raisinbran20 asked
Zoos all over the country are facing financial difficulties as states slash their funds and attendance dwindles. From raised ticket prices to kicked-out koalas, zoos and their critters are feeling the crunch. But some organizations are using creative measures to keep their facilities open and up to par. Most zoo administrators agree that things have not been the same since the Sept. 11 attacks. Slowing air travel, an even slower job market and repeated terror alerts have prevented many Americans from visiting zoos big and small. Even flagship zoos saw drops in attendance: the National Zoo in Washington saw a 16 percent decrease between 2002 and 2003, while the Bronx Zoo in New York City fell by 18 percent, with under two million visitors in 2003, according to figures provided by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (search) (AZA). To make matters worse, budget-crunched states have cut millions of dollars from the budgets of zoos already grappling with a slumped economy. The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, N.C., receives about 60 percent of its budget from the state, which has cut the zoo's budget by $1 million each of the last three years, spokesman Rod Hackney said — and that's only part of the problem. The ticket booth saw only 576,000 visitors last year, about 100,000 fewer than the previous year. 'Not only are fewer people coming but corporations that formerly gave large contributions to the zoo can't afford to do that anymore,' Hackney said. Hackney harkened back to the glory days, when in 1995 over 934,000 people visited the zoo, but said they haven't seen numbers near that since the Sept. 11 attacks. 'Over the last three years we've seen a decline in attendance... which is a reflection in the downturn in the economy — people don't have extra money to do recreational activities, paying the bills and feeding the kids comes first.' The Oregon Zoo in Portland, Ore., which is the number-one fee-based attraction in the state
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