Zoo Zoo (Wildlife Conservation Society) leading the discussion. From then on, zoo professionals became increasingly aware of the need to engage themselves in conservation programs, and the American Zoo Association soon said that conservation was its highest priority. In order to stress conservation issues, many large zoos stopped the practice of having animals perform tricks for visitors. The Detroit Zoo, for example, stopped its elephant show in 1969, and its chimpanzee show in 1983, acknowledging that the trainers had probably abused the animals to get them to perform. Whipsnade Park in Bedfordshire, England, was opened in 1931 as the first safari
Cape May County Park & Zoo increased in size eventually to . In 1978, the Cape May County Park & Zoo was created within Park Central. In the February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard, the enclosure of the bald eagle habitat was destroyed by the heavy snow fall. It has since been rebuilt. The Walter Trettin Snow Leopard Habitat was completed in 2016. The zoo was voted the 13th best zoo in the world and the 5th best zoo in the United States in TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice 2015. TripAdvisor also named the zoo the 3rd best in the nation in 2012. The zoo is accredited by