Zoo Biology. 2020;1–8. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/zoo © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC | 1 Received: 13 November 2019 | Revised: 10 July 2020 | Accepted: 9 September 2020 DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21572 RESEARCH ARTICLE Conservation medicine and One Health in zoos: Scope, obstacles, and unrecognized potential Kate Sulzner 1 | Christine Fiorello 1 | Frank Ridgley 2 | Della Garelle 3 | Sharon L. Deem 4 1 Ecovet Global, Berkeley, California, USA 2 Conservation and Research Department, Zoo Miami, Miami, Florida, USA 3 USFWS National Black‐footed Ferret Conservation Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA 4 Institute for Conservation Medicine, WildCare Institute Center for Chelonian Conservation, Saint Louis Zoo, St Louis, Missouri, USA Correspondence Kate Sulzner, Ecovet Global, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA. Email: kate@ecovetglobal.org Abstract Zoo veterinarians and allied professionals have been contributing to conservation medicine (CM) and One Health (OH) activities for more than two decades. Although the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) considers conservation a key part of its mission, little published material exists about the extent of AZA work in CM/OH or the challenges and opportunities associated with these endeavors. To better understand the current scope of CM/OH in zoos, we surveyed 53 AZA‐accredited institutions from April through October of 2016. We obtained information on CM/ OH infrastructure, support for expansion in this area, and strategies to overcome perceived obstacles hindering CM/OH from becoming a core AZA activity. Survey results revealed that while most zoos favor greater investment in CM/OH programs, awareness, and understanding of CM/OH across the broader zoo community and public is lacking. The majority of respondents stated that overcoming this challenge is paramount to attaining support for CM/OH initiatives. In spite of these obstacles, survey respondents highlighted many positive developments in CM/OH. We found that 84% of zoos surveyed are actively engaged in CM/OH activities, and 12% house formal CM/OH programs. Another 8% of respondents said their institutions were developing CM/OH programs. Perhaps most noteworthy, we found that zoo size did not have a significant bearing on the financial amount allocated toward an institu- tion's CM/OH activities. This suggests that all zoos, regardless of size, can make meaningful contributions to the growing movement of CM/OH and help redefine the role of zoos within this movement. KEYWORDS AZA, conservation medicine, multidisciplinary, One Health, zoos 1 | INTRODUCTION Zoological institutions are actively involved in global conservation efforts, providing financial, research, educational, and professional support for a variety of wildlife conservation projects, both ex situ and in situ (Conde et al., 2013; Keulartz, 2015; Robinette et al., 2017; Vitali et al., 2011). According to a 2011 study, the collective financial contributions of zoos to conservation initiatives worldwide ranked third behind The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund Global Network (Conde et al., 2011; Fa et al., 2014). However, critics contend that zoos have the potential to play a larger role in con- servation, particularly in the areas of policy, research, training, ha- bitat protection, and community engagement (Keulartz, 2015; Leader‐Williams et al., 2007; Miller et al., 2004; Rabb & Saunders, 2006). Over the past decade, zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) have been reshaping their strategies in an