PRIDE: An Interview with Andy Hall, BIAZA Communications and Public Affairs Manager

This month, in celebration of PRIDE, we are giving space to LGBT+ voices from across the BIAZA membership. The PRIDE blogs will provide a snapshot of the experiences of LGBT+ people working in the zoo sector and highlight diversity across the animal kingdom too.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your current role?

I am the public affairs and communications manager at BIAZA, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums. That means I deal with everything from helping members with their PR to trying to push the Government for action in support of the aims of the zoo and aquarium sector. I do all sorts from TV interviews on elephant conservation to organising parliamentary debates and writing speeches.

Q. Can you tell us how you got to where you are in your career, and your aspirations for the future?

I love the zoo sector! I’ve had an interesting career including stints in business, politics and most recently, environmental campaigning, throughout all of that I have been a volunteer at ZSL London Zoo. Volunteering has been really useful in honing the inclusive language I use to engage diverse audiences and having such a varied career gives me useful and different perspectives that inform my work today.

I love the zoo sector, I have always been an absolute zoo and animal nerd. As a queer young child I felt like an outsider, but for me nature has always been a non-judgemental and freeing space where I could be who I wanted to be.

Looking to the future I want to harness this love to driving the transformation of the zoo sector into warrior organisations, leading a greener, better future for society and wildlife.

Q. What is your favourite part of working in the zoo and aquarium community?

There are some absolutely incredible experiences. Over the past year or so I’ve meant a large number of the elephants in the dedicated care of our keepers, they never fail to amaze me. I’ve seen individual fish that were the very last of their species, and I’ve gotten pretty close to some of the most incredible animals on earth from rhinos to bears.

I also love seeing the impact the sector has on regular people. My own nephew is animal obsessed and I encounter so many visitors who have never seen a goat before let alone a gorilla. That inspirational role keeps me going.

Q. Why do you think diversity and inclusion matters within the zoo and aquarium community?

Zoos and aquariums are, or should be, a radical force for social good. Zoos and aquariums are inclusive spaces compared to expensive international safari holidays, or local natural spaces where having the knowledge to access & appreciate native wildlife can be an insurmountable barrier for different communities.

Wildlife can be incredibly important to anyone who feels ostracised or alienated from wider society, whether they have a disability, different gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity.

Diversity & inclusion is also vitally important for improving how zoos and aquariums actually operate. Good conservation necessitates working with numerous communities across the world, running a good visitor experiences means engaging different audiences at the same time – it therefore makes sense to have those communities represented inside the organisations. Just as the diversity of life underpins the earth’s ecosystems and functions, so it should underpin our organisations.

Q. How do you think zoos and aquariums could increase their diversity and inclusivity?

I would love to see more diversity in zoo board rooms, and throughout an organisation. To help achieve this I think zoos and aquariums need to shout more loudly about their role as social campaigners.

Zoos and aquariums are kicking down the door of environmental elitism, and if they were louder about this social justice role, I have no doubt it would attract a wider range of people to the sector. Making nature accessible to diverse audiences is something zoos and aquariums are good at and yet zoos and aquariums are rarely recruiting campaigners with a social justice background.

Q. What does ‘Pride’ mean to you?

To me pride is personal and political. I know, for so many going to their first pride is an incredibly emotional and important moment. There are far too many bedrooms where someone is sat struggling with their identity, far too many communities where whole sections are made to feel unwelcome (or much worse). Pride is both an inclusive space and a celebration and that can be really powerful.

But Pride is also an opportunity to push for a better world. It’s an opportunity for zoos and aquariums to burnish their radical credentials, burnish their expertise as conservation organisations and ensure that nature isn’t in the hands of an elite few but belongs to (and is the responsibility of) everyone.

Q. What has your experience been as a member of the LGBTQ+ community within zoos and aquariums?

I’m lucky to have had really positive experiences in the zoo community, but I know that isn’t the case for everyone. As a white, able-bodied and male-presenting member of the community I’m aware of the huge privileges I have compared to others. As a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community I try to be an active ally to as much as possible. Across the sector there I’ve made some truly remarkable friends from across the sexual and gender identity spectrum, together we need to lift each other up, have each other’s backs and celebrate each other.

But sometimes I’m also self-conscious. I’m conscious that when I’m representing the zoo and aquarium sector, audiences are generally expecting someone who looks and sounds like they’re ready to wrestle a dangerous animal to the ground. Just by being me, I hope that I’m helping to dispel that myth, show that zoos and aquariums really are for everyone and maybe inspire a future zoo keeper.

By Andy Hall, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, BIAZA

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not a reflection of BIAZA's positions.