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The Zoo de Granby is one of only six institutions in Canada to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA – www.aza.org).
The Zoo de Granby is also accredited by Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA - www.caza.ca).
Moreover, the zoo is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA -www.waza.org), becoming the first in Quebec and the sixth in Canada.
The Zoo de Granby was founded by Mr. Pierre-Horace Boivin, a man who deeply influenced the course of the City of Granby’s history. Granby’s mayor (1939 to 1964) and one of its great industrialists, he also started up the City’s daily newspaper, La Voix de l’Est.
Pierre-Horace Boivin had always loved animals. As a youth he owned half a dozen dogs that he had trained. He then cared for horses and a goat born with only three legs. His collection of animals gradually increased.
He undertook the construction of the Zoo shortly following his election as mayor of Granby. In 1944 he convinced three of his friends to give him a piece of land running along Bourget Street; it didn’t take long before the Zoo de Granby was short on space. The need for this first expansion was due to Mr. Boivin’s habit of asking his hosts during his travels for an animal to place in his Zoo.
Mr. Boivin was offered a solution in 1953.
Mr. Boivin had however found the perfect site: a 60-acre plot of land that the Notre-Dame parish granted him.
That same year, the Zoo was officially transferred to the Granby Zoological Society, which then handled its management, its development and its move to the present site.
The zoo does not lack in anecdotes: Ambika, the baby elephant given to the children of Granby by Jawaharlal Nerhu, who was the prime minister of India from 1947 to 1964; the beavers given to Prince Rainier as a wedding present; the orphaned giraffe from the Copenhagen Zoo adopted by the Zoo de Granby…
For Mr. Boivin, each occasion was a good opportunity to highlight his city and enrich the zoo’s population.
Major construction projects multiplied, the zoo’s population diversified and the visitors poured in. The Granby Zoological Garden earned its stripes and became a major tourist attraction in Quebec.
The Zoo de Granby celebrated its 60th birthday in 2013.
We’re constantly striving to renew ourselves, to always be at the forefront, to offer diversified, distinctive and original tourist opportunities. Our 2018–2022 master plan and investments of $51 million constitute concrete examples of our wish to see the Zoo de Granby truly evolve.
Therefore, in 2019, the Zoo has given itself a new brand image crystallizing this wind of change and Zoo de Granby’s business vision. A modern, playful and unifying image that reflects our status as a leader, our vision and our commitment to animal welfare at the Zoo as well as in nature!
