International Zoo Meeting in Poland: Supporting Ukrainian Institutions
The international meeting ZOOFanatika took place at the Lubin Zoo (Poland) from April 11-13, 2025, with the participation of directors from six Ukrainian zoos.
Representatives from the Ukrainian zoo community included:
- Volodymyr Topchiy (president of AZU, director of Mykolaiv Zoo)
- Yevheniy Van (Cherkasy Zoo Roshen)
- Oleh Pavliuk (Rivne Zoo)
- Ludmila Denysenko (Lutsk Zoo)
- Serhiy Kostiv (Limpopo Zoo)
- Igor Bilyakov (Odesa Zoo)
This year’s ZOOFanatika event focused on supporting Ukrainian zoos facing challenges due to the war.
“Ukrainian zoos find themselves in an extremely difficult situation. The initial surge of solidarity in Europe has noticeably declined. Furthermore, the financial condition of Ukrainian zoos is worse than at the start of the war. The situation is complicated not only by the lack of funds but also by many other negative factors,” the organizers of ZOOFanatika noted.
On the first day of the meeting, Volodymyr Topchiy presented on “Ukrainian Zoos in Wartime.” The Lutsk, Mykolaiv, and Cherkasy Zoos showcased videos detailing how their teams have faced the challenges of wartime.
A traditional component of ZOOFanatika is the auction where artifacts related to zoo work (publications, souvenirs, etc.) are sold. This year, all proceeds from the auction were donated to support Ukrainian zoos. One item up for auction was a fragment of a cassette warhead that hit the Mykolaiv Zoo.
During the meeting at the Lubin Zoo, Volodymyr Topchiy presented a commemorative award for the “120th Anniversary of Mykolaiv Zoo” to the director of the Warsaw Zoo, Andrzej Kruszevich, who has been one of the founders of the PANDA fund supporting our institutions since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Meetings with Czech Colleagues
After the main event, representatives of the Ukrainian zoos met with their Czech colleagues.
In particular, at the Prague Zoo, Volodymyr Topchiy presented the “Order of Leontovych” commemorative sign to the director of the zoo, Miroslav Bobek. Our colleagues had the opportunity to view the new gorilla exhibit and learn about the construction of the large Arctic Exhibit (budget — €50 million).
To conclude the trip to ZOOFanatika, the AZU zoo directors visited and interacted with their colleagues at the Safari Park “Dvůr Králové.” At this renowned zoo, the Ukrainian zoo directors learned about the okapi exhibit. The zoo director, Mr. Přemysl Rabas, shared experiences regarding the conservation and reintroduction of white rhinos.
At the end of the meeting, AZU President Volodymyr Topchiy presented a commemorative award for the “120th Anniversary of Mykolaiv Zoo” to his colleague.
