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Don Coyote - Zoo Drama in Seven and a Half Acts
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Constant Readers,
Not much went on at the September 16 meeting at the Board. There was a long and fruitless attempt to appeal the Planning Commission's approval of the Central Subway project but otherwise, the vote on the zoo was the most interesting item. So here's what happened:
Narrator: Supervisor Chris Daly’s effort to turn San Francisco’s zoo into an animal rescue sanctuary was stumbling due to the threats by the American Zoological Association to remove the zoo’s certification. And by The City’s recent collective allergy to the word “sanctuary.” Last week, the proposed ordinance was granted a one-week stay of execution. This Tuesday, it was up again....(and yes, these are all real quotes - the video was not up in SFGTV in time for me to meet the deadline for the paper but here is the play with actual statements)
[Chris Daly sits center stage. Alone. Despondent. His zoo proposal is sure to fail.]
DALY: “The legislation as it is currently in front of us, I see as a vision document for our zoo. And it is a vision which I admit this board may not be ready to implement. But it is a vision I think that is righteous…”
[Alas, our supervisorial Don Quixote must trade what is righteous for the well-worn answer that is close enough. Through a forced smile he offers to remove the rescue mandate and just form a committee.]
DALY: “What this amendment does, colleagues, is it takes out language which is the teethy language in the legislation…and what is kept in this legislation is the creation of the Animal Welfare Oversight Advisory Committee appointed by this Board to report to this Board so that this Board can make an informed decision about the future of [the zoo].” (Amendment here: Download zoo_committee_amendment.doc.)
[Having run to board chambers from Mistermayor’s office, Dufty enters, panting, and clutching a counterproposal which would add members to the existing Joint Zoo Committee.]
DUFTY: “Currently [the joint committee is] three members of the Rec and Park Commission, three members of the [Board of the] Zoological Society and the administrative changes they will make will add a representative of the Animal Welfare Commission….and will also add a nominee from the Board of Supervisors for a veterinarian with expertise in exotic animals.”
[Sancho enters from the far left and sweetly assures our hero that the committee is a fine idea.]
MIRKARIMI: “I think that this amendment makes sense and I plan to support it.”
[From the audience, an aspiring judge needs clarification.]
SANDOVAL: “From what I can see it’s very simple, it creates an advisory committee and that’s basically all it does...since I just got it I want to ask if anyone disagrees with that point of view…”
[Sean Elsbernd answers. Like a genie of details, he’s been waiting for someone to rub the lamp and summon his expertise.]
ELSBERND: “We have Rec and Park Commission, we have a joint committee, we have an Animal Welfare Commission, we have the AZA, we have the USDA, we have state agencies, we have community groups, we have the zoological society –I don’t think we truly need yet another committee to advise us in these negotiations.”
Narrator: Soon thereafter, Daly’s impossible zoological dream was over by a vote of 7-4. In addition to Daly and Mirkarimi, only Ammiano and Sandoval voted “yes.”
But lest you think the board is anti-animal, later in the meeting they unanimously voted to declare September 21-27 Sea Otter Awareness Week. (Resolution here: Download sea_otter_week.pdf.)
--Melissa
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