In the midst of a financial meltdown, we’re seeing budget cuts all over the place. Projects are being abandoned, jobs are being lost, houses are not selling…and zoos and aquariums are being neglected. Zoo budgets all across the country are being cut nearly in half in some cases, even more.
What can you do to help? Visit your local zoo, aquarium, and botanical garden! Bring the whole family and make it a fun, not too expensive outing. Don’t take our hardships out on the animals – they need visitors too!
I came across this article on foxnews.com that explains further:
SYRACUSE, New York — Even porcupines could get pink slips in the slumping economy as U.S. states consider cutting or eliminating funding that supports zoos, aquariums and botanical gardens.
As part of his plan to help New York address a potential $15.4 billion budget shortfall, Gov. David Paterson has called for cutting funding for the Zoo, Botanical Garden and Aquarium Program from $9 million to $4 million in the state’s 2009 budget and for eliminating funding in 2010.
“We can’t fire our bears or furlough our sea lions,” said John Calvelli, executive vice president of public affairs for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates the Central Park and Bronx zoos and the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn, among others.
New York isn’t the only place where hard financial times threaten government support for zoos, aquariums and gardens — known collectively as “living museums.”
In California, city council members ordered work halted late last year on a new $42 million elephant exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo because of the city’s fiscal woes. In North Carolina, state lawmakers recently told the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro it won’t get $4 million for repairs and new exhibits because of a budget shortfall.
Last year, city leaders slashed the Kansas City Zoo’s budget by 20 percent, while The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore closed four weeks early this winter to save money and offset budget cuts from the state Legislature. In Florida, state lawmakers cut $2 million for manatee hospitals at Lowry Park Zoo, SeaWorld and the Miami Seaquarium.
Click to read the entire article on FoxNews…
Further Reading:
- Family Vacation Ideas for Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland
- Family Vacation Ideas for Orlando, Tampa, Cape Canaveral – Central Florida
- Family Vacation Ideas for Kansas City, St. Louis, Branson and the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas
- Family Vacation Ideas for Manhattan and New York City
- Family Vacation Ideas for San Diego, Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Southern California
- Family Vacation Ideas for Key West, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami Beach, Boca Raton and Southern Florida
- Other Posts on Family Travel
- Zoos, Aquariums and Botanical Gardens
- The Great Lakes are Not So Great
Filed under: Family Fun Ideas, TripCart | Tagged: Environment & Wildlife, Traveling With Children, Kids Having Fun, Zoo NY, Animals & Wildlife, Human Wildlife Conflict, New York Botanical Garden, Sea World Orlando, Botanic Garden, Zoo Atlanta, Botanic Gardens, Central Park Zoo, Kids Travel, Shedd Aquarium, Los Angeles Zoo, Family Fun Day, Seaworld Orlando, Wa History
