We believe:
1. That as Bernard Heuvelmans wrote “there are lost worlds everywhere” and that there are many new species of large animal awaiting discovery. Furthermore, that new species of animal can be found even in the most highly urbanised environments.
2. That it is arrogant in the extreme for humankind to think that we know all the secrets of the universe, and especially those of the natural world. There are many processes of nature that we simply do not as yet understand.
3. That evolution is a living and dynamic process, and that as surely as new species of animals have evolved in the past, they are evolving in the present day, and that the process may happen faster than many people think. We therefore believe that many cryptids may be newly evolved species rather than prehistoric survivors.
4. That cryptozoology, and the other related subjects which we study are a true science and we work towards having it taken seriously as such by the wider scientific community.
5. That although there are members of the CFZ from all religions and from all sections of the political spectrum, we carry out our researches with no religious or political bias or motivation.
6. That zooform phenomena and other allied phenomena are not `supernatural` or `paranormal` but are merely defined by laws of science that we do not yet understand. Because of this, we are opposed to the present system of book marketing which includes books on Fortean zoology within the `Mind, Body and Spirit` category.
7. That our research is only justified if we publish our results within conventional as well as electronic formats, and make them freely available to everyone – not just those who are members of the CFZ.
8. That everyone involved with the CFZ became involved because of a childhood fascination with Natural History. For about a century from the mid 19th Century, Natural History was the most popular interest for British people of all ages and backgrounds. However, as a direct result of ill-thought-out government legislation since about 1970, this interest has decreased alarmingly. We feel that this is a bad thing and pledge to do all we can to redress this.
9. That the CFZ should be an international brother/sisterhood of like-minded people who work together, mindless of differences of creed and culture, to push back the boundaries of human knowledge, for no other reason than that it is a good thing to do; hence our motto Pro Bona Causa Facimus (we do it for a good reason).
10. We believe that the study of Fortean zoology is an ideal discipline for children and young adults, because it is an ideal introduction to the joy of increasing the sum total of human knowledge, because it is an unparalleled way of introducing the joys of the natural world to those who might not otherwise have experienced them, and because we believe that our modus operandi encapsulates many important intellectual disciplines sadly missing from much of modern-day life.