Zoos Fear Forced Closure, Destruction of Animals

Anyone want a giraffe?

A zoo operator says it will have to close a pair of Massachussetts zoos, lay off most of the 165 employees, find homes for some of the more-than-1,000 animals and possibly euthanize the rest of the animals unless the state restores millions of dollars in funding.

"It is believed that a minimum of 20 percent of the animals will not be able to be placed, requiring either destroying them or the care of the animals in perpetuity," read a statement from Zoo New England, which runs the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and the Stone Zoo in Stoneham.

The Massachusetts legislature approved $6.5 million in state funding for the zoos in its fiscal year 2009 budget, but Gov. Deval Patrick's line-item veto reduced the figure to $2.5 million, according to Zoo New England.

The zoos' $11 million budget is funded by a combination of state funds, zoo revenue and private donations.

"$2.5 million is not sufficient to continue operations of the zoos and will actually cost the commonwealth [of Massachusetts] millions more in subsequent years" in shutdown costs and animal care, Zoo New England claimed. "For this reason, Zoo New England and many of its supporters are calling for the legislature to override this veto."

Messages left by ABCNews.com Saturday with both Zoo New England and Gov. Patrick's office in Boston were not immediately returned, though a Patrick spokeswoman explained the zoo budget cuts in a statement to ABC News affiliate WCVB-TV in Boston.

"These are extremely difficult times across the state, and there have been tough cuts in every area," said the statement by spokeswoman Cyndi Roy. "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."

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/AmazingAnimals/story?id=8061115&page=1