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****DRAFT****

LETTER TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE AT THE ZOO

Animal Control and Welfare Commission

3/13/08

Note: Changes to this draft are anticipated. Final copies will be available at the special Commission meeting on Tuesday 3/18/08, Noon, Room 416 City Hall

 

 

**To be printed on ACWC letterhead**

 

The Commission of Animal Control and Welfare ___________ voted on _________ to recommend that the Board take immediate action to convene hearings to address animal welfare, management and oversight problems at the San Francisco Zoo. Below is a summary of the Commission’s findings and recommendations.  In brief, the Commission recommends that the Board focus hearings on the need to:

 

  • Make animal welfare a priority at the zoo by guaranteeing that future expenditures are spent on meaningful improvements to conditions for animals before additional visitor amenities or new animals are brought into the zoo. 
  • Reform zoo management, oversight and accountability through the creation of a board-appointed “Zoo Oversight Commission” focused on ensuring animal welfare at the zoo.
  • Transition to a rescue zoo, expanding on the successful and highly popular rescue of Grizzly bear cubs last summer.

 

Unfortunately there is no shortage of exotic species, including big cats, in need of placement after being rescued from inhumane private ownership situations.  Zoo visitors who value seeing these exotic species will not be deprived of that experience with the transition to a rescue zoo. Indeed, because the histories of individual rescued animals can be posted alongside exhibits, visitors can readily identify with and care about the animals, enhancing the visitor experience.

 

The Commission bases these recommendations on our review of recent expert analyses of animal exhibit conditions, the Zoo Master Plan Update 2007, the 2000 Zoo Performance Audit, and an accounting of zoo expenditures and renovations made to date.  Commissioners visited the zoo within the last month to observe conditions of the animals and their exhibits for ourselves. We heard public testimony at three separate meetings about citizen concerns about animal welfare at the zoo.  Although the Commission formally and in person invited Zoo management to participate in all three public meetings, the Zoo declined, stating that the busy schedules would not allow for their attendance.

 

The Commission has grave concerns for the future direction of the Zoo. The 2007 Master Plan Update calls for the Zoo to become an accredited botanical garden, build new visitor amenities including an enclosed “galleria,” cafés, a Zoo Tram, conference center and amphitheater. Furthermore, the Commission is concerned that current oversight of the Zoo is inadequate to protect animal welfare. The For example, the January 2000 Performance Audit of the Zoo, prepared by the Budget Analyst for the Board, noted several instances where animals lived at the Zoo in substandard enclosures.  In particular, the audit called attention to problems with the bear grottos. The audit said about the bear grottos: “Ten to fifteen years is too long to address deficiencies of the existing habitats.”(p.1).  Eight years later, the Zoo has done nothing for the polar bears.

 

The Commission would like to acknowledge the dedication of the Zoo’s animal keepers who do what they can to enhance the lives and the well being of animals in their care. Our concerns lie with the Zoo management’s priorities and ineffective oversight of the Zoo management.

 

The Commission urges the Board to take prompt action on this pressing matter. Please do not hesitate to contact Commissioner Andrea Brooks at 415.786.6934 if you have any questions on this matter.

 

Respectfully submitted on …., on behalf of the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare,

 

 

Andrea M Brooks, Commissioner

**DRAFT**

Supplemental Information to be included in letter to Board of Supervisors about Animal Welfare at the SF Zoo

3/13/08

Note: Changes to this draft are anticipated. Final copies will be available at the special Commission meeting on Tuesday 3/18/08, Noon, Room 416 City Hall

 

Recommendation for Animal Welfare Improvements at thatSan Francisco Zoo

 

The Current Situation:

 

­    Visitor Experience: The San Francisco Zoo has made great strides to improve upon the visitor experience and amenities and has invested millions of dollars to do so. Nevertheless, ongoing animal welfare deficiencies at the zoo detract from the visitor experience. (See below.)

 

­    Visitor Safety: In light of the recent tiger-mauling at the zoo, a peer review panel has been established to make recommendations to improve upon visitor safety.

 

­    Zoo Keepers: The zoo keepers, those responsible for day-to-day animal care, are recognized for their dedication and love of the animals, doing what they can to enhance the lives and well-being of the animals in their care.

 

­    Animal Welfare: There are significant animal welfare issues concerning the living conditions and exhibits for many of the animals. These concerns have been pointed out, documented, and discussed for years but have not been addressed by zoo management. The conditions for the animals at the San Francisco Zoo are grossly outdated and have been described sad and inhumane.

 

Commission Testimony:

 

The Animal Control and Welfare Commission heard testimony that raises concerns about the welfare of the animals at the Zoo, including:

 

­    Compulsive pacing of polar bear

 

­    New exhibits not designed appropriately to meet animal welfare standards (i.e. black swans and giraffes); unnatural and potentially dangerous behaviors exhibited by giraffes due to lack of natural foraging

­    Inhumane conditions for the Baird’s Tapir, grey seal, hippopotamus, and other animals

 

Further specifics provided by zoo experts X, X and X; attached.

 

 

The 2007 Master Plan Up-Dates -- Animal welfare continues to take a back seat to extravagant visitor amenities:

 

The 2007 Zoo Master Plan Up-Date includes plans for the Zoo to seek accreditation as a Botanical Garden, further develop family activity areas and create a 1,000-seat amphitheater, build a new café, restaurant, tram system, parking and entrances. The Commission is concerned that that this diffusion of purpose and resources could have a negative impact on animal welfare as animal exhibits compete with “entertainment” attractions for scarce funds.

 

 

Animal welfare problems identified in the 2000 Performance Audit of the SF Zoo, prepared for the Board of Supervisors by the Board of Supervisors Budget Analyst, have not been addressed:

 

 

 

­    “The outdated animal enclosures and exhibits are the greatest concern of the general public.  They were the driving force for the success of the bond measure vote and should be moved to a top priority for the bond program.”  It’s evident that the capital improvements from the bond measure focused on visitor amenities and underwrote only two new significant exhibits (African Savannah and Lemur Forest).

­    When asked what one thing they would like to see changed at the Zoo, visitors gave a wide range of suggestions. The most frequently mentioned suggestions (29%) were directed toward providing improved habitats for animals.

­     “The  most glaring deficiencies in housing and exhibit design, because they do not provide natural environments and/or are limited in space, are facilities for the chimpanzees, orangutans, elephants, bears, sea lions, hippopotami, giraffe, and siaming. All, with the exception of the northern bears and sea lions, are scheduled for new facilities within Phase II (by the end of 2004) of the Zoo Master ZPlan.” While elephants and sea lions are both no longer at the Zoo, the Zoo canceled the new orangutan and chimpanzee exhibits which were originally identified as targeted for improvement with the 1997 bond measure funds. The bears, with the exception of the new grizzly bear exhibit, have not undergone any meaningful renovation. The hippopotamus has actually been moved to a far worse exhibit. The siamang were moved to a larger, but equally inappropriate, cage.

 

­    “If the sea lions and northern bears are to remain at the zoo, the existing facilities should be removed and new state-of-the-art exhibits constructed within the Phase II [by the end of 2004] timespan.  Otherwise, the animals should be relocated to other institutions with better facilities. . . . 10-15 years is too long to address these concerns.”  It has been eight years since the audit, and the polar bears remain in the same deficient conditions.

­    ”Recognize that the weather at San Francisco Zoo is at the cooler limit for keeping many tropical species . New outdoor exhibits should be designed with ample windbreaks, outdoor shelters, and on-exhibit heat sources. Animal collection should be carefully selected, as much as possible, for an animal’s ability to acclimate to cooler temperatures, or select species that originate from cooler climate zones. . . .” The new African Savannah exhibit was located in the most weather-exposed part of the zoo, and constructed without shelter or windbreaks for the warm-weather animals displayed there. In fact, the most sheltered part of the African Savannah exhibit was designed for the human visitors, leaving the animals who live there exposed to the cold wind and fog off the ocean, which is across the street. In addition, the zoo continues to make plans to acquire more animals (such as jaguars and koala bears) that hail from tropical climates.

 

­    “As the financial responsibilities shift to the SFZS, this strain carries with it the need for revenue from the gate, concessions, and fundraising This need for revenue shows up in the programs (Ford Motor Company, white alligator) and capital improvements (Little Puffer, roller coaster). Complicating this is the honorable burden of paying staff salaries at the high end of the profession…It is important that animal welfare issues not be overshadowed by these other zoo needs…The priority of projects and time of construction be rearranged so that the new animal exhibits are constructed first.” This recommendation was not heeded and instead new entrances, gift shop, café, conference centers and other visitor amenities were constructed before substantial new animal exhibits.

­    In a zoo, the exhibition of animals takes precedence over the exhibition of art.

 

­    Improvement in animal exhibits will drive attendance up (and therefore zoo revenue) more than any other project.

 

 

The Future:

 

­    Transition to rescue zoo. Grizzly Gulch is an example of what the Zoo can be. There are huge numbers of exotic species in private hands that should not be. The Zoo can provide a home for them when they are “rescued” from private hands. Zoo visitors will still see big cats and other species that are perennial crowd favorites.

 

­    Rescue Zoo concept could grandfather in species currently part of endangered species breeding programs.

 

­    Develop a wildlife rehab center at Zoo. The Rehab Center, funded by a separate fund, would be able to respond to rehab emergencies such as the Cosco Busan oil spill.

 

Board of Supervisors Opportunities:

 

­    Establish that the city-owned facility is to be transitioned to a rescue zoo that places animal welfare as its priority.

­    Ensure that animals are provided a home for life and are not transferred from zoo to zoo for various zoo programs.

­    Create a Board-appointed “Zoo Oversight Committee” (ZOC). ZOC will be mandated to review all zoo capital improvements based on animal welfare needs. ZOC approval will be necessary for all zoo capital improvements and animal dispositions and acquisitions. There is great concern that existing management and oversight is inadequate to ensure that animal welfare remains the Zoo’s highest priority. For example, nothing has been done for polar bears despite specific suggestions in Performance Audit issued more than eight years ago. Focus of the ZOC will be:

 

    Ensure animal welfare remains the top priority of the Zoo. Plans to change the focus of the Zoo away from animals to a botanical garden, increased conferences and events, etc should be given a lower priority than animal welfare concerns if not abandoned outright. Creating humane habitats for all animals at the zoo and providing increased enrichment for all animals should have the Zoo’s highest priority.

 

    Ensure the Zoo creates appropriate enclosures for all the animals it has now (or finds homes for them elsewhere) before bringing in new animal species.

  • Ensure that future enclosures are created to provide meaningful improvement to the conditions of animals through building exhibits as large and complex as possible.

 

    Ensuring Animal Keepers can devote their time to taking care of the animals, and provide increased enrichment for the animals, in consultation with animal behaviorist specialists on staff, and are not doing routine maintenance of exhibits.