About San Francisco Zoo Watch
The San Francisco Zoo is broken. Current management has failed its animals, its staff, and San Francisco residents. The city and the Bay Area deserve a zoo that puts animals first, run by a proactive management team that is ethical, transparent, and accountable.
With the news of Mayor London Breed securing a pair of pandas from the Chinese government for the city-owned San Francisco Zoo, I knew it was time to launch a campaign that put a spotlight on The San Francisco Zoo with an aim of ending decades of neglect and dysfunction.
A quick primer
The San Francisco Zoo was owned and operated by the City of San Francisco until 1993 when the city entered into a private-public partnership with the San Francisco Zoological Society, a non-profit organization that the city pays $4.2 million a year to manage the zoo. There is a pseudo-oversight Joint Zoo Commission, which includes Recreation and Parks commissioners and Zoological Society board members, but that committee acts like a rubber stamp.
Decades of Neglect
In April 2024, The San Francisco Chronicle published a damning exposé on the state of affairs at the zoo. Kiona, a grizzly bear, broke free from her primary containment area and chased his keeper. Berani and Judy, orangutans, endured two years confined to rat-infested indoor cages with scant outdoor access. And a high number of keepers have quit, with some citing management's lack of concern for the safety of both animals and staff.
None of this is new—quite the opposite, these incidents are part of a decadeslong pattern. Since 2007, when Tatiana, a tiger, escaped her enclosure and killed a 17-year-old zoo visitor before dying in a hail of police gunfire, the zoo has been marred by instances of disregard for animal welfare and lapses in safety and mismanagement. These episodes have been compounded by issues of antiquated infrastructure and deferred responsibility. Frequently, the zoo does not seem to fix a problem until after a dangerous incident or animal death has occurred.
The list of incidents includes the thefts of Banana Sam, a squirrel monkey, and Maki, a ring-tailed lemur, and the tragic death of Kabibe, a young gorilla crushed by a hydraulic door malfunction. Zoo management was once accused of using keepers’ radios to spy on them, a claim the executive director denied. Additionally, the zoo has flouted local and state public records laws and breached its contract with the city by failing to share internal records with citizens. In the last few years alone, a kangaroo and two wallaroos were killed by a wild puma, a 1-year-old penguin named Handy Harry was crushed by a guillotine door and Hasani the gorilla almost escaped his cage due to a door malfunction.
Real Meaningful Change
San Francisco must take decisive action.
Cancel the pandas. Considering the zoos track record, there is a horrific yet entirely possible risk of an incident or death of one of the pandas themselves occurring on the city's watch.
Terminate the management contract with the San Francisco Zoological Society and find new leaders who will unequivocally prioritize the welfare of our animal inhabitants.
Establish an oversight commission focused on animal welfare, endowed with robust authority.
The city should follow through on the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare’s 2008 recommendation to transition the zoo to a rescue and rehabilitation facility. The San Francisco Zoo should cease its endless trading of animals and end breeding programs that do not restore wild populations. Instead, it should prioritize providing a refuge for animals in need, working to protect habitats and contribute to conservation efforts.
Stay up-to-date
Here I will be compiling information and building a community of people who are ready to create real meaningful change at SF Zoo.
About Me
I am Justin Barker. For nearly two decades, I've worked to bring the truth about the San Francisco Zoo into the spotlight. In 2008, when a group of activists, myself included, successfully lobbied the city’s animal welfare commission to recommend transitioning the zoo into a rescue and rehabilitation facility, Mayor Gavin Newsom refused to take action.
In 2019, I initiated requests to obtain internal documents from the Zoo. When met with refusal, I embarked on a three-year journey. The task force in charge of upholding government transparency ruled in my favor, determining that the zoo management violated local and state public records laws and breached its contract with the city by withholding internal records from me.
My work for zoo animals began when I was 13 years old, launching Citizens Lobbying for Animals in Zoos. I am the author of Bear Boy: The True Story of a Boy, Two Bears, and the Fight to Be Free, a story about my work standing up for Brutus and Ursula, two black bears living in horrific conditions in a California zoo.
Professionally, I have spent much of my time working as a director and producer, circling the globe and crisscrossing continents directing TV shows, documentaries, and producing online education series. I live in San Francisco with my son Noah, daughter Uma, and wife Bridget.