North

Chester Zoo opened in 1931, and the North of England Zoological Society was established in 1934. In the nearly 80 years since, the zoo has come to be a leading visitor attraction, international conservation charity and regionally significant business. The Zoo's mission is to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide. To this end we currently care for more than 400 different animal species in the zoo - many of which are endangered. We also house national collections of a number of plant species and are highly respected as a centre for global conservation, education and research. We are passionate campaigners for wildlife internationally and have active projects in 50 countries around the world. Today, we are the UK's most popular zoo, with over 1.4 million visitors per annum, and are considered one of the top 15 in the world. We have engaged energetically with the challenges of running a competitive business as a charity and marrying our conservation mission with sound commercial practices. We hope that your visit to Chester Zoo will illustrate how we address these challenges, and how we are continuing to develop the zoo on principles of innovation and sustainability.