NC zoo may go private

[jusko88]

I just read an article about how the north carolina zoo has been talking bout goin private now for about a year now. The would rely less on the state's money and the zoo's director says that it would give the zoo more flexibility in maintenance and fundraising. But wouldn't that become a problem or no? i just want someone to explain to me why this might be good or bad? and if your private wouldn't you lose you AZA credit. thks matt

 

[DavidBrown]

Many zoos have "gone private", which usually means that they are run by a non-profit zoological society rather than a government entity (city, county, state). The Bronx Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Phoenix Zoo, Sacramento Zoo, and many others are run on this model. It could be good if the zoo can build a sustained funding base that does not depend on the booms and busts of government funding (mostly busts in this economy), but sustaining the funding base is a major challenge also.

 

[Ituri]

In this case, "going private" would mean that the state of North Carolina would no longer operate the zoo, which they currently do. In most cases, the city (or in this case state) turns over operation of the zoo to a non-profit zoological society. Also in most cases, the governing agency who formerly operated the zoo still contributes financially to the organization (though not as much).

The Phoenix Zoo and San Diego Zoo are examples of something different. They both have been privately owned and operated from the beginning and lease the land they are on from the city. San Diego receives a minimal amount of government support for their operations, and Phoenix receives none whatsoever (the only government money Phoenix has ever had went to upgrading the infrastructure which technically belonged to the city anyway).

So there are many different operational models, none of these however have anything at all to do with accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).