SAN FRANCISCO (December 11, 2024) — In Defense of Animals, SF Zoo Watch and Panda Voices are welcoming a decisive move for accountability and animal welfare, as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a pivotal audit of the San Francisco Zoo on December 10. The vote follows significant concerns and controversy surrounding its operations, and a troubling revelation that the zoo plans to house giant pandas in a repurposed lion den to save money. 

The audit aims to address allegations of nepotism, worker safety issues, and poor animal welfare practices which San Francisco Zoo has repeatedly failed to address. Zoo CEO Tanya Peterson and other executives fiercely resisted the proposed transparency measures during a December 5 meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee. Supervisor Dean Preston declared the zoo’s reaction raised a “red flag.”

Supervisor Connie Chan emphasized the necessity of the audit to ensure the zoo is “capable of delivering healthy and safe environments for current animals and pandas.” Chan urged the board to “pause this partnership to recieve the pandas... It is more important to make sure San Francisco Zoo is a good zoo, not just by the routine standard, but to the San Francisco standard.”

“This vote marks a pivotal step towards addressing the zoo’s longstanding and serious mismanagement issues with the first such review in 25 years,” said Brittany Michelson, Campaign Specialist for Captive Animals at In Defense of Animals. “We commend the Board of Supervisors and the Animal Commission for advancing a thorough examination and support Supervisor Chan's call for a temporary halt on the panda program because animal lives are at risk.”

The zoo recently announced a controversial $8 million plan to repurpose a lion exhibit to house pandas — a cost-cutting move criticized for risking panda welfare. Pandas, known for being highly suceptible to captive stress, would be subjected to a predator-prey arrangement, causing chronic stress and compromising their wellbeing. Adding to the controversy, an insect curator has been assigned to oversee panda care.

“We are outraged that the proposed panda plans include housing pandas in a night grotto next to lions, while we are highly concerned that the zoo has hired an insect curator to oversee panda care,” added Michelson.

“The zoo's resistance to the audit raises serious concerns,” said Justin Barker of SF Zoo Watch, who has shared detailed insights on the 30-minute meeting. “It's imperative for the citizens of San Francisco to recognize the implications of such resistance; if the zoo is this reluctant to undergo scrutiny, one has to wonder what might be concealed behind the scenes. This isn't just about fiscal transparency; it's about ensuring the ethical treatment of animals and the integrity of one of our city's most cherished institutions.”

On November 21, an Animal Commission report “daylighting” serious animal welfare, management, and unsafe infrastructure failings at San Francisco Zoo was presented to the San Francisco Joint Zoo/Recreation and Parks Committee by its Animal Welfare Advisors, Jane Tobin and Joseph Spinelli DVM.The report highlights systemic failures, including:

• Outdated and unsafe enclosures, some nearing 100 years old.
• Inadequate strategic planning for infrastructure updates and animal welfare.
• Diversion of resources from necessary repairs to new projects like the panda plan.

The report urges the zoo to halt the panda acquisition and focus resources on improving conditions for current animals. Other recommendations include modernizing the 1993 Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the zoo’s current management to include robust animal welfare standards, appoint animal welfare advisors to ensure ethical oversight, and transition the zoo to a rescue and rehabilitation model instead of trading and breeding programs.

Report author Jane Tobin shared, “We are only asking for transparency and good governance, the most basic building blocks of democracy.”

San Franciscans can help ensure accountability by urging decision-makers to cancel the panda plan and focus on critical animal welfare improvements by singing an In Defense of Animals alert which has already gained over 14,000 supporters: https://idausa.org/sfpanda

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CONTACTS: 

In Defense of Animals, Brittany Michelson, brittany@idausa.org, 928-420-0727
SF Zoo Watch, Justin Barker, justinmbarker@gmail.com, 916-838-3330

IMAGES & VIDEO of San Francisco Zoo animals, pandas, and advocates in action are available on request.

GOVERNMENT AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING, DEC. 5:

Granicus video of meeting (1:00:50)

Legistar information about the meeting and audit vote

SF Zoo Watch Substack summary

REPORTS & EXPOSÉS

San Francisco Animal Commission report

BAY WOOF column by San Francisco Joint Zoo/Recreation and Parks Committee Animal Welfare Advisor and report author Jane Tobin

San Francisco Chronicle report

NOTABLE ZOO SAFETY INCIDENTS:

2007 - The escape of Siberian tiger Tatiana, who killed a visitor before being shot
2011 - The theft of squirrel monkey Banana Sam
2014 - The crushing of baby lowland gorilla Kabibe by a hydraulic door malfunction
2020 - The theft of endangered lemur Maki
2020 - The deaths of two wallaroos and a red kangaroo who were killed when a predator entered their unsafe enclosure
2023 - The death of Handy Harry, a young penguin struck and killed by a guillotine door
2023 - The near-death of a keeper when a grizzly bear chased her owing to a door malfunction
2024 - The death of a sacred ibis due to unsafe, filthy conditions in the birdhouse by aspergillosis — an infection caused by mold
2024 - Two further deaths of a penguin and pelican possibly caused by mold and predation in October

ORGANIZATIONS:

In Defense of Animals is an international animal rescue and protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a history of defending animals, the environment, and their guardians through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, rural Mississippi, and California since 1983. www.idausa.org

Panda Voices is an organization created in early 2021 by an international group of panda fans from Asia, Europe & The Americas, brought together by concerns over pandas YaYa & LeLe, which began years before. The organization is committed to give voice to the voiceless and promote the humane treatment of animals in captivity through advocacy and services. www.pandavoices.org

SF Zoo Watch is committed to exposing negligence and mismanagement at the San Francisco Zoo. We fight for the safety and ethical treatment of animals and workers, pushing for transparency and accountability. Join us in demanding a safer, more humane San Francisco Zoo. https://sfzoo.watch

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