Dear Editor,
As an avid animal lover and frequent zoo visitor to our local zoo and other zoos in the state, I was quite disappointed to learn of the AZA denial. I have watched the zoo grow and evolve over nearly twenty years. I am amazed and overjoyed at how far our little zoo has come. With that being said, I was very hopeful that the conference would end in a positive result for the zoo. After attending the city council meeting in which zoo director Scott Greggory explained the outcome of the conference, I believe we did receive a positive outcome. Even though we were not granted accreditation this go around, (but really, has any zoo their first time?) we were looked upon with favor and encouraged to not give up.
I hope that the community will not give up either. Please, don’t count the zoo out. They have come so far! While there is more work to do, we now have a zoo that we can be proud of. The zoo is involved in breeding and survival plans now instead of being what was essentially a retirement zoo where solitary animals were sent to spend their last few days. The zoo will continue to improve and I hope that support for our zoo will grow and improve as well. The community could do so much with this little zoo. Think of the possibilities that lay ahead! With our support we can make our zoo into something we can all be proud to bring our families to. I would implore the community to not give up on the zoo; the best is still to come.
Stacie Hayes
Ellinwood