Efforts to Reform SF Zoo Continue

 

For decades animal welfare problems have plagued the San Francisco Zoo. Many of the animals have been housed in the same cement enclosures for decades, despite the zoo spending tens of millions of dollars. New animals continue to be brought into the zoo, while animals are left to languish in outdated and inhumane conditions.

However all these problems had been ignored by the City, the San Francisco Zoological Society and the oversight committees until IDA stepped in and made animal welfare an issue, bringing the problems to the attention of the public and city officials. We did this by:

• Organizing A well-attended press conference with international zoo experts who deemed San Francisco Zoo conditions “third world” and echoed IDA’s call for reform;
  
  
• Launching A publicity campaign that resulted in extensive media coverage of the zoo’s animal welfare and management woes;
  
  
• Supporting a proposed ordinance, sponsored by San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly, to transform the zoo into a rescue facility that places a priority on animal welfare and establish much-needed, independent oversight.

Although Supervisor Daly’s ordinance did not become law, IDA’s campaign forced city and zoo officials to acknowledge the woeful animal welfare deficiencies and need for change at the zoo. The result has been a number of important changes:

• Zoo director Manuel Mollinedo was replaced with an acting director, Tanya Peterson, who is much more responsive to animal welfare concerns;
  
  
• Mayor Gavin Newsom dispatched Carl Friedman, the city’s highly respected animal control director, to the zoo full-time to deal solely with animal welfare issues;
  
  
• At Supervisor Bevan Dufty’s request, Mayor Newsom is seeking the creation of two new seats on the Joint Zoo Committee, which oversees zoo operations for the City. One seat will be for a member of the City’s Animal Control and Welfare Commission; the other will be for a veterinarian. The addition of these seats is proposed to rectify the complete failure of the Joint Zoo Committee to consider and address animal welfare concerns.

Although these changes do not go as far as we would like, IDA believes that they are a first step to changing the San Francisco Zoo into an institution that reflects the city’s progressive and humanitarian values. We will be continuing to monitor this situation and to work with zoo officials to ensure meaningful change for the animals at the zoo.

What You Can Do

Write to Supervisor Chris Daly to thank him for his dedication to improving the plight of the animals at San Francisco Zoo:

Chris.Daly@sfgov.org

Please also send a note of thanks to the other Supervisors who voted in favor of the ordinance.

Ross.Mirkarimi@sfgov.org
Gerardo.Sandoval@sfgov.org
Tom.Ammiano@sfgov.org

And finally, please write to the Mayor and Supervisor Dufty commending them for acknowledging the problems at the zoo. Tell them you appreciate the changes they are proposing to deal with these problems. Finally, let them know that you will be watching to see that the proposed changes achieve prompt, tangible and visible changes for the many animals currently languishing in inadequate and inhumane conditions at this facility.

Bevan.Dufty@sfgov.org
gavin.newsom@sfgov.org