Le jardin zoologique et le rapport à la faune sauvage : gestion des « collections zoologiques » au zoo d’Anvers (1843 – vers 2000)

Abstract

Violette Pouillard, The Zoological Garden and the Attitude towards Wild Fauna : Managing Zoological Collections at Antwerp Zoo (1843-ca 2000) This paper provides a first sketch of the history of zoological collections management at Antwerp Zoo, from its foundation in 1843 to the present day. My purpose is to shed light on the institution’s attitude towards wild fauna and, more generally, on the way Western Europe’s relation to the wild has evolved through the Contemporary era. Particular attention is paid to notable changes made in the zoo’s fauna management at the end of the twentieth century, from the gathering of living specimens, notably by the means of supplies sent from the colony, to the protection of threatened species, an ambition erected as a real function by the zoo during the last third of the twentieth century.