Columba de la Panouse – vice CEO of Parc zoologique de Thoiry – has urged the zoo community to inspire trust among the general public following events which saw poachers break into the zoo and kill a white rhino for its horn.

Panouse, who is also chair of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s (EAZA) Communication Committee, was speaking during the European Zoo Educators Conference, saying that the zoo sector must inspire trust from the public, which will also benefit them at a higher a policy level.

“Animal rights groups, who aren’t very helpful to zoos as you know, will jump and the bandwagon and try to tell their own story,” said Panouse, addressing EAZA delegates.

“You also have EU and national policy makers who have their own agenda, and you’ve got zoo sceptics – people who are aged 17-35, are very influenced by social media and tend to mistrust institutions in general.

“How you tell your story is crucial,” she continued. “Even more important than what you say is that you inspire trust. If people don’t trust you, you can say anything you like but it won’t matter. Trust is what we’re working on at all levels of staff. We need to promote transparency and we need to promote the image of EAZA externally. It’s not just about us, it’s about the whole community.”

The rhino horn taken in the French attack at Thoiry Zoo could be worth as much as £35,000 (US$42,000, €40,000) when sold illegally on the black market. The act is thought to be the first incident of poaching from a living animal in captivity in Europe. Other zoos as a result of th crime have stepped up security measures, while many have rallied in defence of the zoo itself.

“One thing that has really been amazing about the whole rhino situation and really comforting for the staff is the overwhelming positive response that we have had from our colleagues around the world and also from the media and the general public,” said Panouse.

“The first thing we did when we found the rhino is we called the police, and then within an hour we alerted the EAZA as to what had happened.

“The animal activists did try. It’s an obvious argument to say that zoos can’t look after their animals in a situation like this, so it was really important that we had the support of EAZA.

“We made sure all of our colleagues would know what was happening so that we could be strong together and answer and potential questions or criticisms that would come.”