The city is bailing out the SF Zoo with a large loan on the condition it fulfills a list of requirements. The zoo also plans to bring back giant pandas to boost revenue, but advocates say its track record shows it can’t properly care for them.
The SF Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to award the San Francisco Zoological Society, the nonprofit that oversees the zoo, with an $8.5 million loan to help keep the zoo running while it implements the required changes from the city’s audit from earlier this month.
As NBC Bay Area reports, the nonprofit will first receive $2.5 million up front, and the remaining funds will be held until after the zoo implements facilities improvements and structural changes outlined in the audit.
“There is a long list of milestones that the Department and the zoo must meet,” said Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who requested the audit last year, as her district covers the zoo.
The zoo’s new director, Cassandra Costello, who was appointed in February, will reportedly be responsible for making sure the zoo fulfills several requirements before receiving the remaining $6 million from the loan. Meanwhile, the Zoological Society will also be required to cut costs, boost revenue and fundraising, and improve oversight and planning practices.
“The city and county owns the land and we own the animals. We have to make sure that it all works,” said Melgar, speaking to NBC Bay Area. “If the organization doesn't survive, it is our responsibility that those animals are taken care of and fed three times a day. So we came up with a plan jointly to help them.”
As SFist reported earlier this month, the audit found the zoo and its nonprofit spent roughly $12 million on construction and improvement projects between 2019 and 2025 without obtaining required city approval, while also citing ongoing budget deficits, weak financial oversight, and broader management failures.
The zoo has faced mounting scrutiny since a series of Chronicle investigations in 2024 detailed concerns surrounding animal welfare, worker safety, and deteriorating conditions at the facility.
According to Bay City News, one proposal for increasing attendance at the SF Zoo centers around the renewed effort to bring back giant pandas from China, which has drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates.
"The audit proves this zoo lacks the financial stability and basic infrastructure to responsibly care for highly sensitive giant pandas," said Taciana Santiago Melo of Panda Voices.
A group called In Defense of Animals is instead calling for the facility to be transformed into an eco park, sanctuary, or native wildlife rehabilitation center, as KQED reports.
“San Francisco Zoo has long been under fire for dilapidated infrastructure, inadequate habitats, and shocking animal care failures,” says the group’s website. “Adding pandas or other new animals would only deepen this crisis and put more animal lives at risk.”
“Cities across the world are moving beyond outdated zoos, and San Francisco must do the same,” says the group.
Supervisors say they plan to closely monitor the zoo as it works through the reforms tied to the loan and audit findings, with Supervisor Connie Chan emphasizing that the next two years are the most critical.
Zoo officials are still reportedly aiming to bring two giant pandas to San Francisco by early 2028, though an agreement with China has not yet been finalized.
Previously: Audit Finds SF Zoo Violated City Laws By Spending $12 Million Without Approval
Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
