Did San Francisco Zoo Squander $88 Million In Taxpayer Funds?

Animal Advocates Say “Yes” and Call for Improved City Oversight of Zoo To Ensure Animal Welfare

San Francisco, Calif.—As San Francisco grapples with a budget crisis, In Defense of Animals (IDA) today called on city officials to implement major changes in oversight of the city-owned zoo. IDA seeks creation of an independent, Board of Supervisors-appointed oversight commission focused exclusively on animal welfare.

In 1997, San Franciscans voted in favor of a $47 million bond measure, which cost the city $88 million in costs and fees. The zoo promised voters large, expansive enclosures for the chimpanzees, big cats, and other animals. Eleven years after that bond measure was approved, the majority of these animals remain in the decades-old enclosures under cramped and inadequate conditions deemed to be “Third World” by zoo experts.

All capital improvement expenditures of bond money were approved by the Recreation and Park Commission and Joint Zoo Committee, both of which are supposed to provide city oversight of the zoo.

“The system is broken, and the misappropriation of tens of millions in taxpayer funds is gross negligence by the city commissions charged with overseeing the zoo,” said IDA Program Director Suzanne Roy. “The animals have paid the ultimate price for this mismanagement.”

Four years ago, the Recreation and Park Commission and zoo management refused to address the elephant problems at the zoo. After two of the elephants died, the Board of Supervisors stepped in to order the closure of the elephant exhibits and the transfer of the two surviving elephants, Tinkerbelle and Lulu, to a sanctuary. Tinkerbelle died within months of being transferred to the sanctuary. Today San Francisco leads the nation with an ordinance mandating minimum space requirements for elephants in a zoo.

“The Supervisors must again intervene to address the underlying deficiencies in zoo management and oversight that have allowed inhumane conditions at the zoo,” Roy concluded.

Earlier this year the San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commission unanimously passed a resolution advising the Supervisors of solutions for the animal welfare problems that plague the zoo. The Commission’s recommendation included transformation of the zoo to a rescue facility that prioritizes animal welfare.