Zoo May Close, Euthanize Animals; Budget Cuts Threaten Boston Zoo

The BostonChannel ^ | July 11, 2009 | staff reporter

[Daffynition]

BOSTON -- The Franklin Park Zoo, the only Boston institution of its kind, may be forced to close and euthanize some of its animals, zoo officials said Friday.

Without more state funding, zoo officials said that they will run out of money within months and have to close both Franklin Park and the Stone Zoo in Stoneham.

The zoos would be forced to lay off most of their 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals.

Zoo officials estimated 20 percent of the animals would not find homes and could be euthanized.

“Not all the animals in the collection will be able to be placed at other facilities,” John Linehan, zoo president, wrote in a letter to the Massachusetts Legislature. “The Commonwealth would then be forced to either continue to maintain the animals in the closed facilities or euthanize them.”

The Legislature had originally provided $6.5 million to the zoos, but Gov. Deval Patrick cut the state funding to $2.5 million.

“These are extremely difficult times across the state, and there have been tough cuts in every area,” a Patrick spokeswoman, Cyndi Roy, said in a statement. “This is an example of an unfortunate cut that had to be made in order to preserve core services for families struggling during the economic downturn.”

The Franklin Park Zoo was founded in 1913. It is funded by state money, private donations and revenue from the attractions.

[Jeff Chandler]

If they're going to kill them anyway, why don't they just take like 20% of them, kill them, butcher them, and auction them off to exotic-food eaters?

You read my mind.

[Richard Kimball]

Hold my beer and watch this!

[Erik Latranyi]

They are going to kill the animals in the zoo because they have no funding.....however, I bet they still have funding to kill the babies in the womb.

Liberalism on display.

[Cvengr]

ping

[Daffynition]

[OldMissileer]

This whole thread reminds me of a great little movie named Fierce Creatures, staring John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kevin Kline.

A zoo in Britain is bought out and if it doesn't make a profit it will be shut down and all the animals killed. I'll leave the rest for you to watch.

I just bought the DVD for only a few bucks on Amazon and it is very funny.

[Allegra]

ROFL - your graphics on here are a riot!

[JoeProBono]

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

[JoeProBono]

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

[Daffynition]

Thanks for the heads-up ...I see it is on YouTube in segments ....I'm going to watch it.

[Daffynition]

[JoeProBono]

[bert]

How about unaborted crack babies? shouldn’t they go first? How about their mothers?

[Daffynition]

Giraffe Jump! Jump! Jump!

[Daffynition]

Why thank ye! Aren't you about to board a big bird and be home soon? ;)

[Allegra]

Why thank ye! Aren't you about to board a big bird and be home soon? ;)

LOL - if I saw one of those looking at me through the plane window, it would certainly make the long trip more entertaining.

I plan to go visit my sister in the UK for a couple of weeks next month (during Maximum Blast Furnace Climate here) and maybe go home in late fall or around Christmas.

Keep those hilarious graphics coming! :-)

[Daffynition]

Stay safe and watch yourself with that channel crossing!

[andy58-in-nh]

That's it - exactly. Liberals in Big Government union-controlled states pull the same extortionate act and the sheeple fall for it, every time.

Whenever the government lives beyond its means, what are the first things they threaten? Police, fire, sanitation, cute animals. whatever it takes to avoid any consideration of waste, fraud and abuse. "Never mind our $80,000 lifetime pensions at age 55, if you cut the budget, we'll have to kill these cute puppies. Don't you even care?"

[Smokin' Joe]

Whenever the government lives beyond its means, what are the first things they threaten? Police, fire, sanitation, cute animals. whatever it takes to avoid any consideration of waste, fraud and abuse.

Precisely!