SF Officials Break Their Silence on the Zoo’s Dysfunction — Finally!
After years of silence, two of the city's top officials are saying what workers, advocates, and the public have long known: the San Francisco Zoo is broken.
It finally happened.
After months of behind-the-scenes tension — and years of growing frustration from staff, advocates, and the public — two San Francisco city officials are going on record about the crisis at the SF Zoo.
Supervisor Myrna Melgar and Larry Mazzola Jr., chair of the city’s Joint Zoo Committee, have largely kept their concerns private. But in a San Francisco Chronicle article published today, both broke their silence — and in doing so, made it clear: the dysfunction at the zoo is no longer something City Hall can ignore.
Mazzola called the situation a “complete embarrassment” and did something no official has done so publicly until now:
“The city should examine its lease with the Zoological Society, with the possibility of ending its relationship and potentially finding a new nonprofit to run it.”
Yes. Please.
This is the head of the Joint Zoo Committee — not a fringe voice, not an outsider. For him to suggest replacing the San Francisco Zoological Society is both monumental and overdue.
Meanwhile, Supervisor Melgar, whose district includes the zoo, made clear that she’s exhausted by the stonewalling and disrespect from the zoo’s leadership. She confirmed that the zoo has failed to comply with a formal audit, delivering only 5 out of 25 requested documents — and only after she involved the City Attorney’s Office.
“I’ve tried to help the zoo, and I have been treated with nothing but disrespect.”
She’s now vowing to place the zoo’s $4 million in city funding on hold if they don’t fully comply.
And Then There’s Sam Singer — Again
Of course, no San Francisco Zoo scandal is complete without a familiar voice spinning the damage: Sam Singer, the crisis PR consultant who’s been polishing this institution’s failures for decades.
Singer told the Chronicle:
“Just like there are different opinions on the Board of Supervisors, there have been differing opinions on the zoo board — that does not equate to dysfunction.”
He also insisted:
“The zoo believes it’s in compliance or substantial compliance, and if for some reason there are documents the city still requires, the zoo will gladly provide them.”
Let’s get real.
The board chair resigned, along with three other members, after a failed vote to oust the CEO. The union has called for Peterson’s removal. The zoo is under an official city audit, has refused to turn over 20 of 25 requested documents, and only started responding when the City Attorney’s Office got involved.
But Sam wants you to believe it's just a spirited internal debate? That the zoo is somehow “substantially compliant” with public records law?
Come on. That’s a lie — and a lazy one at that.
This isn’t 2007. That year, Sam Singer helped sell the absolutely disgusting narrative that three kids were somehow responsible for a tiger escaping its enclosure and killing their friend at the SF zoo.
First of all: gross.
Second: the public may have bought it then — but not anymore.
San Franciscans are smarter now. We've seen the pattern:
The zoo fails.
Animals (or people) get hurt.
Accountability is demanded.
And Sam Singer shows up to blur the truth with soundbites and smug deflection.
But his spin is wearing thin. The facts are out. City officials are speaking up. The public is paying attention.
And this time, no talking point can cover the rot.
The City Owns the Zoo. It’s Time We Act Like It.
Last week, in "The Vote Failed — But the City Can’t", we made the case: the San Francisco Zoological Society has lost its ability to lead. It is no longer a trustworthy steward of this public institution.
Now, for the first time, city officials are saying it out loud.
This zoo has been governed for years by a politically connected nonprofit that resists oversight, disrespects workers, mishandles animal care, and stonewalls the public. Its CEO remains in power not because of competence — but because of insider loyalty and big-donor politics.
That can change. The city can act. The Mayor can act.
We need what other cities already have: a proven, ethical operator that reflects San Francisco’s values. The Conservation Society of California, which runs the Oakland Zoo, is ready. They’ve shown what modern, humane, community-driven zoo leadership looks like.
Why not here?
It’s time for bold leadership.
Terminate the contract.
Bring in new leadership.
Restore integrity to the San Francisco Zoo.