The Calgary Zoo announced on Friday that its new Director of animal management, conservation and research would be British Dr. Jake Veasey.

The new animal care leader has gathered experiences in several zoos already and the Calgary Zoo staff expects him to establish a new reputation of the zoo as one of the world's leading animal stations. A positive future path for the zoo is especially necessary as in the past few years several animal attractions passed way, among them a baby elephant and a hippo.

"My focus is definitely on moving forward, not on raking old ground", Veasey explains. "We need to be looking forward. We need to be identifying where we're weak and being honest and addressing those in a very upfront manner".

The new manager replaces former director Cathy Gaviller, who handed in her resignation a few months ago after she has been criticized for being responsible of the death cases. Now the new manager faces the challenges of reestablishing the zoos image as a high-quality organization.

"My focus is to ensure the highest possible standards of care are in place and to accelerate the rate of change to help the Calgary Zoo become the centre of excellence", states Veasey, who arrived in Canada a few days ago and currently obtains an overview of the zoo.