Detroit Zoo to Close

[Ron Lambert]

The Detroit City Council rejected by a vote of 7-2 a proposal by the mayor that would have turned over administration of the Detroit Zoo to the non-profit Detroit Zoological Society. Their vote forfeited a four million-dollar subsidy the state was ready to give the Zoo.

Plans were submitted to the Council that showed that the Zoo could be administered in such a way that it could pay its own way, and not take a penny from the city budget. The Council's own attorney urged them to accept the proposal.

When the vote of the Council was announced, the entire Southeastern Michigan region eruped in dismay and outrage. The Detroit Zoo is a much loved favorite of most people who live in the region. There has been a continuous firestorm of protest since the announcement.

Some council members sought to justify themselves by claiming they were offended that the mayor waited until the last minute to spring this on them, leaving them insufficient time to consider the proposal. The mayor and city council have been feuding spitefully for years. But this childish petulance may not be the only motive for voting to close the Zoo.

WDIV, one of the Detroit TV stations, broadcast a scene from a Detroit City Council meeting, where one council woman said: "Most of these protests come from north of Eight Mile [the boundary between Detroit and the largely white suburbs]. They need to understand that we are not a plantation, and they do not own us."

This seemed to indicate that the real motivation for showing such disregard for the Zoo--long said by past mayors of Detroit to be one of Detroit's "crown jewels"--is antiwhite racism. Letters to editors have been expressing incredulity on the part of suburbanites that the "race card" would be played. What has race got to do with the Zoo? they ask.

It should also be noted that the Detroit Zoo, despite its name, is actually located in the City of Royal Oak, more than two miles north of Eight Mile. There is growing interest in having the surrounding communities where the Zoo is located take over control of the Zoo, and give the Detroit Zoological Society administrative control of the Zoo.

Something similar happened with the Toledo Zoo in 1982. When the City of Toledo announced that the Zoo would have to close, the surrounding communities joined together and took over administration of the Zoo. This has been successful ever since, and many regard the Toledo Zoo as a world-class zoo.

The newspapers say that termination notices have already begun going out to the 150 employees of the Detroit Zoo. The director says that if the zoo closes, its animals will be sent to other accredited zoos, probably by May.

The Detroit Zoo is an excellent zoo, and it would be a shame if it were to close.

[Halfstep Denise]

Thank you for posting this story, Ron! I'll have to tell my folks. They were both born and raised in Detroit.

Halfstep Denise

[Ron Lambert]

I am glad to report that the lady on the Detroit City Council who make the silly remarks about Detroit not being a plantation owned by whites, has apologized and admitted that what she said was inappropriate and not helpful. The Detroit City Council seems to be astounded at the enormity and fervor of the public's dismay and outrage at the prospect of the Zoo being closed. Maybe there is hope yet that the Zoo can be saved.

When the I-696 expressway was put in which runs along the south boundary of the Zoo, the suburban communities financing it designed it to accommodate the Zoo and protect its animals, digging it way down deep, and putting up high noise abatement walls. The Detroit Zoo has a 100-year history, and no one ever thought there might be a time when it would not be there.

I have always been especially fond of the open train (small trolly) you can take through the Zoo. No trip to the Zoo seemed complete without riding the train. There was just something special about it. I preferred to ride the train to the back of the Zoo, and then walk through the Zoo toward the front. I remember riding the train at the Zoo when I was a child.

I think the best solution would be for the course to be followed that was when the Toledo Zoo was about to be closed back in 1982, and the surrounding communities came together and took over administration of the Zoo, which has been successful ever since. This would be especially appropriate for the Detroit Zoo, since despite its name, it is actually located in the suburbs, two miles north of Detroit, in the city of Royal Oak.

[Ron Lambert]

It is almost funny now, the Detroit City Council is backing and filling, claiming they never said they wanted to close the Zoo, nobody wants the Zoo to close, the Zoo is certainly NOT going to close, it is all the fault of the media for misrepresenting them and saying "the sky is falling, the Zoo is closing." What a bunch of clowns! What about the termination notices to Zoo employees that were already going out?

The Michigan legislature is meeting to try to devise a new subsidy package to send $4 million to support the Zoo, to take the place of the subsidy that was forfeited when Detroit City Council failed to meet the deadline.

[Ron Lambert]

Late this afternoon (Wed. Mar. 1) Detroit City Council voted 6-3 to turn over administrative control of the Detroit Zoo to the Detroit Zoological Society--a move that means the Zoo will stay open. With some refinements in language, this is essentially the same proposal that they voted against two weeks ago. The enormous public outcry caused them to rethink what they were doing. Now they deny they ever meant for the Zoo to close, but they and everyone else knew at the time it did mean the Zoo would close, and temination notices began going out to Zoo employees. We in the Detroit area are very glad that in the future, administration of the Zoo will no longer be in the hands of Detroit City Council. After all, the Zoo isn't even in Detroit, it is in Royal Oak, two miles north of the Detroit border. And the Detroit Zoological Society cares about the Zoo.

[Dr. Shane]

My wife and I have a family membership from our local zoo. Our kids love it. It is so nice to see them want animal toys instead of guns and action figures.

[Guest]

I am glad to see that this zoo will remain open. I used to go there as a kid when I lived in Southern Ontario.

[GreatLakesGramma]

People from up here (Battle Creek/Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo/Lansing area) also consider a visit to the Detroit zoo to be a special day trip destination. It's the most well-known zoo in Michigan.

[Ron Lambert]

The Potter Park Zoo in Lansing is nice--I've been there (my season pass at the Detroit Zoo also got me in there, and is good for about a hundred zoos around the country). But the Detroit Zoo is much larger and more developed. Detroit used to have a Zoo actually located in Detroit--the Belle Isle Zoo, but that was closed a couple of years ago.

[GreatLakesGramma]

Yes, Potter Park is nice. We used to go there quite often when we lived closer and our kids were young. Battle Creek and Grand Rapids also have good zoos. Personally, I've never been to the Detroit Zoo, but several people I know have taken their families there.