March 25, 1982
By the President of the United States
of America
A Proclamation
Zoos and aquariums play a major role in the cultural life of our nation, providing a wholesome
recreational and educational environment for more than 125 million visitors and a living classroom
for some 20 million school children each year.
Among the 200 zoos and aquariums located in the United States are some of the finest facilities in
the world. Many of our zoos and aquariums have pioneered in efforts to conserve the thousands
of species they house. They have also collaborated with institutions around the globe to preserve
wildlife and to develop more sophisticated techniques for exhibiting animals in a natural
setting.
Animals are a universal language, and they have appeal to people everywhere. By enabling us to
experience animals firsthand and to learn about their habitats, zoos and aquariums have become a
valuable and unique asset.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby
designate the month of June, 1982, as Zoo and Aquarium Month.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of
our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and sixth.
Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:35 a.m., March 25, 1982]