A long-awaited city audit of the San Francisco Zoo was quietly released late on a Friday night, and its findings confirm what whistleblowers, advocates, and In Defense of Animals have been warning for years: the San Francisco Zoo is in crisis.

The 248-page Budget and Legislative Analyst Performance and Management Audit exposes at least $12 million in unapproved spending, chronic financial instability, crumbling infrastructure, weak oversight, a toxic workplace culture, and serious concerns about the zoo’s ability to protect animals, staff, and the public.

Yet city officials are still trying to move forward with more taxpayer spending, including an $8.5 million bailout and a reckless $27.5 million plan to bring giant pandas to the failing facility.

This is not reform. It is enablement.

The audit found that the zoo has been operating with ongoing structural deficits since at least the 2018-19 fiscal year. Rather than confronting its financial crisis, the zoo has relied on draining reserves and presenting revenue projections auditors described as “unrealistically high.”

The San Francisco Zoo celebrated Jasiri the lion in a Facebook post shared by the facility itself in November. Now he and the other lions are reportedly in the way of its panda plans. Lions are social media stars, apparently, until they become inconvenient. 

The report also revealed a stunning lack of basic planning. The zoo has no strategic plan and no master plan, despite operating a major public asset and holding vulnerable animals captive.

Its facilities are also deteriorating. Auditors found that the zoo has no comprehensive facility condition assessments, and warned that continued neglect and underinvestment could increase safety risks for both animals and staff.

The audit further exposed weak governance and oversight. The city’s agreement with the San Francisco Zoological Society dates back to 1993 and lacks practical enforcement mechanisms. The zoo was not fully responsive during the audit and delayed providing key documents, requiring escalation to the Board of Supervisors.

Cassandra Costello, shown in a photo shared by the San Francisco Zoo, has been appointed chief executive officer and executive director after serving as chief operating officer and interim co-CEO since August 2025. 

Staff concerns are just as alarming. The audit cited a widespread view among employees that the San Francisco Zoo has a toxic work environment, with high numbers of staff reporting that they witnessed favoritism, discrimination, and retaliation. It also found gaps in incident tracking, accountability, and safety practices, including missing required risk assessments for staff working with dangerous animals.

Despite all of this, San Francisco politicians are still pushing forward with a giant panda project that would cost at least $27.5 million over 10 years. That figure does not include marketing costs or the expense of relocating lions.

Even worse, San Francisco taxpayers may be asked to pay an $11 million “conservation” fee to China, despite serious concerns raised in a New York Times investigation that these fees may be misused for infrastructure projects. A federal investigation into China’s “Save the Panda” program is ongoing.

The same operator that auditors found could not properly manage a $50,000 maintenance contract should not be entrusted with a highly sensitive, multimillion-dollar international panda project.

In Defense of Animals, SF Zoo Watch, and Panda Voices are calling on San Francisco officials to stop pouring public money into a broken system and start protecting animals, workers, residents, and taxpayers.

The coalition is urging city officials to:

Stop the bailouts and freeze the proposed $8.5 million loan to the San Francisco Zoological Society.

Halt animal intake and commit to bringing in no new animals, including giant pandas, until meaningful reforms have been implemented and sustained.

Build something better by transitioning the San Francisco Zoo into EcoPark SF, a facility centered on rescue, rehabilitation, conservation, and education instead of captivity, waste, and political vanity projects.

More than 28,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have already urged city officials to cancel the zoo’s panda plans, and more than 13,000 have called on Mayor Daniel Lurie to transition the zoo into EcoPark SF.

San Francisco officials can no longer claim they did not know. The audit is now public. The warnings are clear. The animals, workers, and residents of San Francisco deserve better.

Please take action now to tell San Francisco officials: no bailouts, no pandas, and no more excuses.