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Wildlife Conservation Society controversies

Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.

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  1. 2020

    Institutional apology for Ota Benga exhibition

    WCS apologized for its historical role in the exhibition of Ota Benga, acknowledging the cruelty and dehumanization involved.

    Source

  2. 2020

    Wildlife Conservation Society apologizes for Bronx Zoo's treatment of Ota Benga

    Company response

    The Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Bronx Zoo, apologized for the zoo's historical treatment of Ota Benga, an African man who was displayed in the zoo's Monkey House in 1906. The organization stated that it must confront its historic role in promoting racial injustice.

    The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo, apologized for the zoo’s historical treatment of Ota Benga, an African man who was displayed in the zoo’s Monkey House in 1906. The organization said it must confront its historic role in promoting racial injustice.

    Company response

    • Apology — Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

      The WCS issued a statement on Wednesday, in the wake of the zoo’s 125th anniversary celebration, apologizing for its treatment of an African man named Ota Benga.

    Source excerpt

    • The WCS issued a statement on Wednesday, in the wake of the zoo’s 125th anniversary celebration, apologizing for its treatment of an African man named Ota Benga.
    • In the name of equality, transparency, and accountability, we must confront our organization’s historic role in promoting racial injustice as we advance our mission to save wildlife and wild places,
    • The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which runs New York’s Bronx Zoo, has apologized for its racist past.
    Source

  3. 1906

    Exhibition of Ota Benga at the Bronx Zoo

    Ota Benga, a Mbuti man from the Congo, was displayed at the Bronx Zoo in a presentation that dehumanized him and reflected the racial attitudes of the period. The episode is one of the most serious ethical controversies in the institution’s history.

    Source

  4. Racial and eugenic legacies among early leaders

    Some early leaders, including Madison Grant and Henry Fairfield Osborn, promoted eugenic and racially discriminatory theories. These views influenced parts of early conservation rhetoric and remain an important subject in assessments of WCS history.

    Source