Cash-strapped Boston zoo may be forced to close doors, euthanize animals

[Contrary1]

"The Franklin Park Zoo, an inner-city Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, may be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said today.

Without more state funding, those zoo officials said, they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart, the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. They would lay off most of their 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals, the officials said.

The zoo officials, in a written statement that echoed a letter sent earlier to legislative leaders, said they would be unlikely to find homes for at least 20 percent of the animals, “requiring either destroying them or the care of the animals in perpetuity.”

The zoos, which are both run by Zoo New England and attracted nearly 570,000 visitors over the past year, are operated through a public-private partnership that is funded by taxpayers and revenues from visitors. If the partnership dissolves, as it would in October if it runs out of money, the custody of the zoos is turned over to state officials, according to state law..."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/due_to_budget_c.html

[LynzM]

1. That sucks...

Maybe about time for a trip to the zoo...

[Jennicut]

2. That is so sad. I have never been there and its probably less than an hour away from CT.

The poor animals. :(

[JanusAscending]

5. I was just told by my daughter today,

that they are planning a vacation trip to Boston in Aug. One of their stops will be to visit this zoo with my 3yr. old Grandson. She lives in Northfield not far from you and I!! I'm glad they are going this year, before it's too late. Lets hope that someone will come to the animals rescue, say like an elderly Statesman we call "uncle Teddy", or a tall handsome Senator named John Kerry??? One can only hope. :hi: neighbor!! JA

[Jennicut]

6. Yeah, that is not far at all, in Litchfield.

You are even closer to me, like 5 to 10 minutes away (I live on Allen Street, where the Mobil gas station is). My girls go to ballet class at Reach for the Stars in Terryville and there are tons of Thomaston kids there. :)
I hope someone steps in with the zoo, its very sad. Why is it that Mass has better Senators then we do? At least Dodd is not so bad.
I have taken my own kids to the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport. I so want to take them to the Bronx Zoo. They are 4 and 5 so the perfect age for it.

[JanusAscending]

8. Aidan has been to the Beardsley Zoo with his play group.

I think he's still too young for the Bronx Zoo. It's an awful lot of walking for a 3 yr. old. Your kids will enjoy it! and please, take my word for it, make sure you check out the Gorilla exhibit!! If I had a chance to go back, I would spend my whole day there. It is very near a snack bar where you can sit and eat lunch , or just rest. They had baby gorillas in the nursery when my hubby and I went about 6 yrs. ago. Let me know if they still have that female gorilla there, who stands perfectly upright, and behaves very humanoid!! No lie, I thought it was a woman dressed up in a gorilla costume!! We spent too little time there because it was on our way out, and my husband was getting tired. This was about a year before he passed. We went at his insistence for some reason, I'll never know. Glad we did!

[Jennicut]

9. Thanks! Yeah, 3 year olds tucker out easily.

Christa is turning 4 Monday but she has grown up a lot in just one year. Morgan was 5 in June and very mature though she does boss her sister around a lot, LOL.
We probably will take a trip this summer to the Bronx Zoo. I went as a kid and my Mom said I loved it. We have taken them to NH a couple of times and this year their attention span was much, much longer (good for us :) )
Sorry about your husband...I am glad you got to see the Zoo with him. My own parents keep wanting to take a vacation with us and I know we should soon though they are only in their early 60's. They want to take us on a cruise but the kids need to get a bit older for that.

[MarjorieG]

3. Wonderful memories of dad often taking me fifty years ago. The family joke was he gave up his golf

game for me, but he really couldn't play. We lived across from the 14th hole of an old public golf course, around the corner from a restricted one. Restricted to us.

[Davis_X_Machina]

4. They've worked hard...

...for a generation to bring the zoo in Franklin Park back from its sorry, sorry state in the '70s, and now the rug is going to get pulled out from underneath them.

They should publicly feed the herbivores to the carnivores -- it's a perfect metaphor for the sort of society a lot of people would like us to descend to....

[obliviously]

7. Exotic sausages! Just sayin' N/T

[donheld]

10. Can someone lock Rush Limbaugh in this zoo first?

[marmar]

12. One final (large) feast for the lions?

:evilgrin:

[HopeHoops]

11. It is sort of an ancient and dingy zoo, but the animals are well cared for.

I haven't been there in over a decade, so I don't know what it is like today. There's a lovely wide open park next to it and I don't remember having trouble finding a parking space. It would be a shame if it closed, but if that's the case I hope they can find homes for the animals. It is really sad to think that they would just kill them. That would crush the people who have cared for them for so long.