Poznan Zoo (New) Poznan New zoo news

Poznan no longer coordinates the EEP of the dalmatian pelican and the white-tailed sea eagle. They have been taken over by the Rotterdam Zoo and the Jersey Zoo respectively.
 
Probably Poznań Zoo lost its temporay membership during EAZA Directors' Days in Bergen.
 
Arek said:
Probably Poznań Zoo lost its temporay membership during EAZA Directors' Days in Bergen.
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Poznan lost ist EAZA membership?? I have it in my mind like one of the better Polish zoos. A lot of space and relatively new buildings etc. What went wrong?
 
The activities of the new (since 2016) director Ms. Zgrabczyńska. She began to replace (or rather combine) the zoo with the asylum. Smuggled tigers from the Polish-Belarusian border, animals confiscated from illegal owners, animals from Ukrainian private breeders imported during the war. Probably two years ago they lost their full membership. Because they completely disregarded the recommendations of the controller from EAZA I suppose they lost even temporary membership.
 
Arek said:
The activities of the new (since 2016) director Ms. Zgrabczyńska. She began to replace (or rather combine) the zoo with the asylum. Smuggled tigers from the Polish-Belarusian border, animals confiscated from illegal owners, animals from Ukrainian private breeders imported during the war. Probably two years ago they lost their full membership. Because they completely disregarded the recommendations of the controller from EAZA I suppose they lost even temporary membership.
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That sounds awful really! Is the zoo still worth seeing?
 
Overall, there are still interesting species, some nice exhibits but I see future in black colors. The city government supports zoo management. Probably zoo will have to give back some animals (on loan from another zoos). It's a shame because zoo has a long history (150th anniversary next year).
 
The Poznan Nove Zoo is one of 4 ZTL collections with a Senegal bushbaby (nominate subspecies)
One of 3 with a Merriam's kangaroo rat
One of 2 with an Egyptian bushy-tailed jird
And the only one with a black-tailed thallomys, Yucatan spider monkey and common vampire

The Poznan Palmiarnia is the only ZTL collection with a Herrera's mud turtle

The Poznan Stare Zoo is one of 5 ZTL collections with a Forsten's tortoise
One of 4 with a long-finned goby.and black surgeonfish
And the only one with a peninsular black turtle
 
 
The zoo director - Ewa Zgrabczyńska - is being investigated for zoo funds and assets appropriation, manipulation of supplier tenders, corruption etc. Basicaly, she has several years misused public funds for personal gains. For example, food and vet care for her huge private animal shelter were invoiced to the zoo. Or she forced a zoo employee to be her chauffeur, driving her to/from home, shop for her or drive her daughter to/from school daily. She signed bad contracts for kick-backs. Or she took money from the zoo, in form of large "loans", bought real estate (farm) this way and never returned them. Staff who opposed such practises were denigrated, mobed and forced to quit. She mismanaged the zoo to such proportion it got into financial problems itself. She is an animal rights person with connections with some politicians. And she is still the zoo director, instead her staff is quitting one by one (they lost already 3 vets!). Details of the situation and her deeds are public for 2-3 years but Poznan municipality still keeps her there.

Source - media article
 
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I hope they fire her soon. She caused a lot of damage by trying to turn the zoo into a sanctuary for unwanted animals. But in public she has many followers, e.g. Zoo Poznań site on Facebook is full of admiration "best Zoo", "best zoo director", "EAZA should learn from her", etc. That's why the city authorities did not fire her earlier.
 
The more I read articles about the director the more I get angry.

Apparently in 2014, thus before she became zoo director, she lived in an appartment in downtown Poznan and was hoarding stray cats at home. Complains of her neighbours about this case of animal abuse got so big that the case got attention of local media. How can somebody with such history and probably mental illness be hired to direct a large zoo?

Another article mentions that she is privately in large debts.

Or that the first report of irregularities (aka her criminal behaviour with zoo funds) were reported to the municipality already in 2017. Police opened her case in 2021.

And she still is the zoo director?!?
 
It's all true. With one exception. These weren't stray cats, but purebred - a purely business activity. She also crossed them with servals (so called savannah cats). How could such person become a zoo director? I don't know, it turns out that Poland is a strange country.
 
The zoo director Zgrabczyńska has been formally accused of several crimes by prosecutor. The prosecutor prohibited her to enter zoo premises. The vice-mayor of city Poznan has promised to release her from the position of CEO. The position of zoo director will be taken by some unnamed city official.

Source
 
She was fired today. But it's eight years too late. The charges are for financial embezzlement, she lost the trust of the city authorities. But she should really be fired for her stupid idea of running a zoo. She wanted to do mix of zoo and animal shelter or sanctuary with animals taken from private owners, invasive species, animals from fur farms etc.
 
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