SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - The San Francisco Zoo should consider becoming an animal-rescue center, or adding a wildlife-rehabilitation clinic, according to a draft plan the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare will study today.

The zoo’s 2007 master-plan update calls for the addition of a botanical garden and seaside nature trail, but animal-welfare commissioners worry that such projects could detract from the zoo’s ability to keep animals healthy and happy, according to a report from commissioner Pam Hemphill.

There are “glaring deficiencies in housing and exhibit design,” according to Hemphill. Problems with animal enclosures came to light after one of the zoo’s Siberian tigers, Tatiana, escaped her enclosure Dec. 25 and killed 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr, and mauled two of his friends.

“The tiger is just the tip of the iceberg of problems,” said Deniz Bolbol, a Peninsula resident who works closely with In Defense of Animals, a group that brought zoo researchers to the facility in December to study how animals are kept.

Those zoo experts reported a litany of findings, from hungry giraffes nibbling on trees to antelopes and ostriches shivering in a cold January storm.

“People can say what they want,” zoo spokeswoman Lora LaMarca said. “I would challenge the credentials of the people making these statements — many animal activists have their own agenda.”

The Animal Welfare Commission hopes to assemble a complete list of animal-protection recommendations that it can send to the Board of Supervisors, according to commission president Sally Stephens. Their top priority will be to see whether there’s consensus on ideas such as rehab or rescue, she said.

Other zoos, including ones in Folsom, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee house wildlife-rehabilitation centers. San Francisco Zoo already performs some rescues, such as grizzly bears, but that is not the agency’s purpose, LaMarca said.

A recent survey of zoo visitors found that 29 percent would like to see improved habitat for the animals, according to a report from Stephens and other commissioners.

“Improvements in animal exhibits will drive attendance up (and therefore zoo revenue) more than any other project,” according to the report.

In 2007, the zoo saw its highest attendance — nearly 1.1 million visitors — since the mid-1980s, LaMarca said.

bwinegarner@examiner.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

5:35 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Examiner Reader said:
�Improvements in animal exhibits will drive attendance up (and therefore zoo revenue) more than any other project,� according to the report. -- Well duh!! I don't believe anyone from the zoo has ever said the exhibits are perfect and do not need improvement. Many of the exhibits were built in the late 30's and early 40's and are in dire need of improvement. The big question is -- Where is the money going to come from?!! The City will need to pony up a boatload of money to make all the improvements needed. I don't see that happening anytime soon. In the meantime, the SFZS is doing a great job with the pittance they are getting from the City.

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8:07 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 14, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Enough! said:
What are Bolbol's credentials? She speaks (and speaks and speaks and speaks - Ms. Limelight) like an authority which obviously she is NOT! Enough already! What is her agenda?

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8:40 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Examiner Reader said:
The Animal Activists always have an anti-zoo sentiment and will use any incident to take away the one we have in San Francisco . The money it would take to redesign the zoo into a rehab center, plus hiring of expert rehab specialists, would be better off spent improving our zoo. The San Francisco zoo is a lovely place to visit and many citizens to not want to lose it. Let's just make it better.

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3:22 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 13, 2008 re: "Commission: Zoo should switch focus"

Time To Hold Zoo Accountable said:
The Zoo wasted tens of millions of dollars on fancy entrance, conference centers, cafes, concessions and most of the animals are left in cramped, old exhibits. It's time to take care of the animals - good for those who are trying to help the animals - they need all the help they can get. The zoo rep needs to spend a few weeks in the hippo exhibit (yes, that means eating and defecating in the same area) and see how it feels.

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1:27 PM MST on Sun., Feb. 10, 2008 re: "Zoo experts to analyze safety measures"

Enough! said:
That's enough already from mouthy "critic" Deniz Bolbol! How many "yes" votes?

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11:11 PM MST on Sat., Jan. 5, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Examiner Reader said:
IF these two drunken idiots who provoted the tiger sue the zoo THEN I think the family of the boy who was killed needs to then sue them for that money, be rewarded every penny of it and then take that money and donate it to the zoo to help rebuild animal habitats that are updated and safer.

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5:25 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Knot2brite said:
I think maybe the zoo should keep current Director Manuel Mollinedo and fire the offensive co-ordinator!

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12:35 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Juan Pescadino said:
"If zoo security ain't worth a dime, Mollinedo should do time." (from previous Examiner Reader comment). Hey, I like that. It makes sense to go after the money maker. I think I'm gonna wait til we find out more about the zoo before I go back with my kids. Too much risk.

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11:51 AM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

48 born in sf, kids in Zoo Camp all week prior, said:
Okay so thanks to the drunk idiots, the zoo ( us ) are going to pay for the new rules in many ways not just money... next time some fool idiots yell at the WILD ANIMALS they should be behind bars ( they endanger our lives everyday...

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10:30 AM MST on Thu., Jan. 3, 2008 re: "S.F. Zoo to reopen with new security measure in place"

Examiner Reader said:
Close the zoo and put Mollinedo behind bars. The zoo and its director run an operation that is unsafe for the four legged inhabitants as well as the two legged ones who come to view them. "If zoo security ain't worth a dime, Mollinedo should do time."

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