reminder: 7/17 is your chance to help animals in zoos!

[Guest guest]

You're Needed on July 17. If you ever wanted to help animals in zoos - NOW

IS YOUR CHANCE!

With your help July

17 will be history in the making when it comes to animal welfare in zoos. For

the first time ever a major city is considering transitioning the

city-owned zoo to focus on taking in rescued animals including exotic, wildlife

and some domestic farm animals. If an ordinance introduced by Supervisor Chris

Daly is successful, San Francisco will create the first-ever, major rescue

zoo in the world.

1. Please join us on

July 17 at 10 a.m. at San Francisco City Hall to give public comments

supporting the ordinance to the City's Rules Committee. Your public comments

of support will help all the animals at San Francisco Zoo.

WHAT:

Public hearing on ordinance 080818 that prioritizes animal welfare at the

San Francisco Zoo and transforms it to a rescue-focused zoo

WHERE: San

Francisco City Hall, Room 263

WHEN: Thursday,

July 17th at 10 a.m.

2. In addition to

attending the July 17th Rules Committee meeting (which is THE most important

thing you can do to help), we encourage you to please email the three Rules Committee members (Supervisors Daly, Dufty and

Ammiano). Please thank Supervisor Daly for introducing the legislation,

and ask Supervisors Dufty and Ammiano to co-sponsor Supervisor Daly’s ordinance

080818. You can cut and paste the text below their email

addresses, but be sure to also personalize your letter and include a few

words about any ties that you have to San Francisco or the San Francisco Zoo

(i.e. San Francisco resident/voter, lived in SF, visited SF Zoo, worked at a

zoo, etc.). Background information on this important issue is included

below.

Supervisor

Chris Daly (sponsor): Chris.Daly

Dear Supervisor Daly:

Thank you for sponsoring

Ordinance 080818 to reform the San Francisco Zoo by creating animal welfare

oversight and transitioning the institution to a rescue-focused zoo. As

you know, the animal welfare problems at the zoo are long-standing. I very much

appreciate the leadership role you have taken in the effort to improve

conditions for animals at the San Francisco Zoo.

 

Supervisor

Bevan Dufty: Bevan.Dufty

Dear Supervisor Dufty:

 

Please co-sponsor ordinance 080818 to

implement much-needed reform of the San Francisco Zoo by creating animal

welfare oversight and transitioning the institution to a rescue-focused

facility. A zoo that places animal welfare as a priority and serves a

larger societal need for placement of confiscated or rescued exotic animals and

wildlife will better reflect San Francisco’s progressive values and commitment

to the humane treatment of animals.

 

Supervisor Tom

Ammiano: Tom.Ammiano

Dear Supervisor Ammiano:

 

Please co-sponsor ordinance 080818 to

implement much-needed reform of the San Francisco Zoo by creating animal

welfare oversight and transitioning the institution to a rescue-focused

facility. A zoo that places animal welfare as a priority and serves a

larger societal need for placement of confiscated or rescued exotic animals and

wildlife will better reflect San Francisco’s progressive values and commitment

to the humane treatment of animals.

Thanks so

much for taking the time to help with this very important effort.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

On Tuesday, June 10,

2008, San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly introduced an ordinance to reform the

San Francisco Zoo and make it a model zoo for the humane treatment of animals.

The ordinance calls for transitioning the troubled institution to the nation's

first major rescue zoo that prioritizes animal welfare and offers a refuge to

exotic and other animals in need. The rescue zoo concept is an extension of the

successful grizzly bear exhibit advocated by the San Francisco Zoological

Society board, in which the Zoo's rescue of the two bear cubs was

widely embraced by the public.

The proposed

ordinance reflects the recommendations of the city's Animal

Control and Welfare Commission, which evaluated the zoo's animal welfare

record and identified serious deficiencies (which can be read here http://www.rescuesfzoo.org/recommendation.html).

The

ordinance introduced can be read here http://www.rescuesfzoo.org/proposed_ordinance.pdf.

For more

information please visit www.RescueSFZoo.com.

TALKING POINTS FOR

EMAILS AND COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF ORDINANCE 080818

· The tragic Christmas

Day tiger mauling that left one young man and the beautiful tiger Tatiana dead

was a wake up call alerting us to fundamental animal welfare problems at San

Francisco Zoo. Creating animal-welfare focused rescue zoo would be a

fitting tribute to Tatiana so that her death will not have been in vain.

 

· The fatal tiger

mauling was a tragic reminder of the zoo’s lack of attention to animal

welfare. Had the Zoo prioritized animal welfare, Tatiana and the other

animals, would have long ago been moved from their 1940’s-era concrete grottos

to modern, safe and spacious enclosures.

 

· San Francisco Zoo’s

animal welfare problems are longstanding. Despite the expenditure of $80

million on capital improvements in the last ten years, many of the zoo’s

animals remain in outdated and inhumane conditions that have been called “Third

World” by zoo experts.

 

· In its current state,

the San Francisco Zoo does not reflect the city's commitment to progressive

leadership and humanitarian values. Creating the world’s first major rescue zoo

would be fitting for San Francisco, known for its commitment to the humane

treatment of animals and people. A rescue zoo would would also help meet a

pressing need for placement of exotic animals and wildlife in need of permanent

homes.

 

· A zoo that provides a

refuge for animals in need, and gives them the best possible quality of life

and lifetime care, will serve as a model zoo for the humane treatment of

animals, promoting understanding, respect and compassion for the creatures with

who we share the planet.

 

· In 1997, San Francisco

voters passed a nearly $50 million bond to improve conditions for animals at

the zoo. A decade later, the same problems still exist. It's time

for the Board of Supervisors to address the

fundamental management and oversight problems at the zoo.

 

· In 2004, the Board of

Supervisors stepped in to address the zoo’s elephant crisis, ordering that two

surviving elephants be sent to a sanctuary and the antiquated elephant exhibit

be closed. It’s time for the Supervisors again to step up to resolve the

Zoo’s long-term animal welfare problems that have plagued the city for many

years.

 

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