The San Francisco Zoo is bleeding money, losing visitors, and running out of time. It isn’t just struggling — it’s failing on some of the most valuable public land in the city.
Attendance is down 40% since 2019. The zoo is posting multimillion-dollar losses. And San Francisco’s 2026–35 Capital Plan (opens in new tab) makes clear that there is no viable funding path to address the site’s looming infrastructure needs amid $400 million in citywide cuts.
If we are going to spend money here, it shouldn’t be to prop up a shrinking, outdated zoo; it should be to build something future-proof, that stands on its own, attracts funding the zoo never could, and aligns with modern science, ethics, and the public’s expectations.
We have a rare opportunity to take a troubled, money-losing zoo and turn it into a public treasure. This is the promise of EcoPark SF (opens in new tab) — an ambitious proposal led by San Franciscans and informed by a global team of veterinarians, progressive zoo leaders, and conservationists. The proposal — which would transform the 100-acre zoo site into a 21st century ecological park rooted in conservation, education, and public space — has attracted growing support inside the city’s political and environmental circles…