Death of a Zoo

I've spent quite a decent amount of time in Maryland, and have visited most of its zoological attractions.  The National Aquarium in Baltimore is the state's most popular tourist attraction, and is located just across town from the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.  Down on the Eastern Shore is the small, charming Salisbury Zoo, which I have many happy memories of.  Northern Maryland has the Catoctin Zoo in the western-central part of the states, while tucked away into the northeastern corner is the Plumpton Park Zoo.  There are also a few science centers and local museums/nature centers with animals tucked away in them.

There is one Maryland facility which I'd never visited - Tri-State Zoological Park, in Cumberland, MD.  And it doesn't look like I'm going to.  The zoo has just closed, its animals dispersed to other facilities.

Tri-State was never a facility with a great reputation. Funding was lacking, facilities were less than ideal, and the whole place was run by volunteers.  The first I'd heard of it was years ago when a fire destroyed many of its animals in holding.  Then, a few years ago, a lawsuit brought by PETA led to the removal of the park's big cats.  Now, the final sweep has been made, and the last animals at Tri-State have been rehomed, either to AZA facilities or to sanctuaries.  After years of contentious legal battles, the zoo is no more.

Photo Credit: Washington Post

Tri-State isn't the only small, unaccredited zoo to be shuttered in recent years.  I always have mixed feelings when I hear about them.  I wonder about what happened to those places.  Was it a lack of financial resources and expertise that led to inadequate facilities and care?  Could they have been turned around with some support and mentoring?  After all, many of the finest zoos in the US now were pretty crummy just a few decades ago.  Or were they crippled by leadership that didn't especially care, and would have happily kept doing things just the way they were until forced to do otherwise.

The involvement of PETA working alongside AZA makes some zoo professionals wary, as makes sense when your fellow traveler is philosophically opposed to your very existence.  Just because we disagree with them in many cases doesn't mean that they aren't right on some matters, and on this matter, they were right - Tri-State was not a suitable home for these animals.  Neither PETA nor AZA has any legal or regulatory authority on their own, but they can work to influence government authorities such as USDA and USFWS, which can enforce laws and regulations, but often require a bit of a nudge to do so.

Sometimes, securing that change to make better lives for individual animals means putting aside differences and working together.  Sometimes, common ground can be found.