The recent article “The worst-run city zoo in America” on the San Francisco Zoo struck a chord, drawing sharp responses from all corners—including a member global animal welfare organization, a former zoo advisory committee member, and a past zoo curator. Critics called out the zoo’s shocking lack of animal welfare knowledge, mocked its obsession with flashy projects over basic care, and condemned its leadership’s misguided priorities. From absurd plans like putting pandas near lions to neglecting fundamental needs like running water, the message is clear: this zoo needs a total overhaul.
Thank you for a blunt, honest and much-needed exposé on yes, the worst big city zoo in America. I write from experience:
Way back in the late 1980’s, the Board of Supervisors commissioned an advisory committee to examine conditions at the zoo. I was a member. Our report got shelved, as reports do. The zoo is SF dysfunction in microcosm: diffused responsibility & decision-making, union - management tensions, no accountability anywhere, a city elite who doesn’t care (it’s not opera or ballet), with animals & public who suffer as a result.
I spoke at length with Tanya Peterson one Saturday afternoon a half-dozen or so years ago, before the pandemic…I concluded she doesn’t have an animal-empathic bone in her body.
Breed’s giant panda ploy is a craven appeal for votes to get re-elected. For the well-being of the pandas, I hope it fails. Shameful.
We might better pitch the zoo to the Benioffs / Altmans of this world in the form of a billion dollar or so ask to demolish the entire place & start over, with a proper organizational structure and something visionary by way of our 40 acres in the coldest corner of the city being transformed into a haven of captive propagation of suitable species teetering on the brink of extinction in the wild. That’s what great zoos like those in San Diego, Cincinnati, St. Louis, the Bronx, Portland, Seattle and yes, Oakland with its vital role in California condor recovery, do.
Everybody in the AZA laughs at us. SF Zoo keepers in 2024 still get asked by Uber drivers, “isn’t that where the tiger got out & killed the visitor?”
Such a mess. If only the talent, vision & wealth that makes this region the economic wonder of the world cared. So sad that it doesn’t. Oh well.
-- R
As a former SF zookeeper and animal curator , it’s truly disheartening to see the direction the San Francisco Zoo is headed. The leadership is completely out of touch with the real needs of the zoo, its animals and staff, and I can personally attest to many of the concerns raised in the op-ed "The Worst-Run City Zoo in America."
Every time I hear about the so-called "AI plan" for the panda habitat, I can’t help but laugh. It's absurd to think they can pull off such a high-tech project when they can’t even address easy to fix problems, like having running water in the Kangaroo habitat, seriously, running water. The zoo should focus on the welfare of its current animals, the staff and the overall infrastructure of the zoo, Not chase after flashy, misguided ideas that fail to address the real issues. I could easily list over a dozen infrastructure issues that the zoo needs to address immediately and many.many more things, but that's a whole different conversation.
I’m also glad to see that London Breed isn’t having much success in fundraising for this project. At least a few people had the sense to reject her outrageous money request. It's time to cancel this panda plan and redirect every dollar toward improving the lives of all the animals already calling the zoo home.
--T
All this situation regarding the San Francisco Zoo is so absurd that it does really look like a joke! It is clear for everyone the systemic and long-dating issues the zoo has and the negligence towards their animals and staff, but it seems only the San Francisco Zoological Society and mayor London Breed are not aware of this and create a false image of the zoo that does not exist.
By retaining their current CEO Tanya Peterson, who has been leading the zoo for about 15 fifteen years and has no animal background, the San Francisco Zoological Society show that they are not willing to change anything there and that political ties are more important than the welfare of the animals and of their employees.
Does Peterson know what she is doing when she suggests putting the pandas near African lions? This is insane! Giant pandas are extremely sensitive to smells and noises. They can easily get afraid and run to climb a tree when hearing a simple strange sound, like something falling or construction noises, for example. Can you imagine how they will act when hearing the roar of lions and feel the smell of these predator animals? They will panic for sure! The impression is that this management takes the decisions without planning, without knowledge, without scientific background, without understating the real world of animals…The species living in temporary enclosures for years may agree with this.
I totally agree with the author when he says that a complete change is urgently needed at the San Francisco Zoo. The CEO must be changed, but also the institution that manages the zoo must be changed. The San Francisco Zoological Society is no longer capable of providing the deep substantial reforms the Zoo desperately needs to leave behind their current status, perfectly pointed out by the author, of the worst-run city zoo in America, just a little better than a roadside zoo.
And what to say about the mayor Breed’s letters to the potential donors for the panda plan presented by the author? I confess I laughed reading them. Sure, the zoo will have a mega expensive high-tech panda house driven by artificial intelligence and up-to-date technology while the other animals of the zoo do not even have a decent permanent house to live in and the city suffers with numerous social problems! I do not know which zoo she is really talking about.
The word “circus” was perfectly used by the author to describe all this situation. Breed, Peterson and the SF Zoological Society live in a make-believe world, where the San Francisco Zoo enclosures are prefect, the zoo animals are happy, the pandas will have a high-tech house, while the city’s residents, the zoo’s staff and animals pay the price for this horror show.
--T, Panda Voices