From the News: Mississippi's Jackson Zoo is on the move

Mississippi's Jackson Zoo is on the move

Moving from one house to another can be a herculean effort.  Now, imagine moving a zoo.  The enormous expense, the unbelievable labor, the logistical hurdles - they would all be breathtaking.  Which isn't to say that it couldn't have tremendous rewards.  A major challenge that almost every zoo faces is having to constantly upgrade and repair facilities that were built decades - in some cases over a century - ago.  Wouldn't it be great to start with a clean slate and build it the way you want it the first time?

Moving a zoo can also have tremendous financial benefits.  In the case of Jackson Zoo, part of the appeal is moving to a location where it will be more accessible to visitors.  Such was the motivation of Baton Rouge's BREC Zoo, which tried - and failed - to secure permission to relocate to a new site recently.  This defeat, an effort to escape its crumbling facilities and begin anew, was part of the lead-up the zoo's (hopefully temporary) loss of AZA accreditation.