Accreditation for zoo at risk

Aging facility in Baltimore must fix fire alarms, worn buildings, low wages

The city is set to approve a $1 million grant to help solve problems with the zoo's water and wastewater facilities. State capital funds of $3 million will help fix the old fire alarm system this summer and pay for other improvements, Hutchinson said.

AZA inspectors also highlighted two issues that were raised in 2006 by U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors. Kranz said both have been fixed: providing more shade for giraffes and fixing storm water runoff problems in the warthog holding area.

There were about two dozen "lesser" issues, Kranz said. Most were related to physical structures such as the Maryland House facility and to holding pens that do not currently house animals.

"We're not going to allow animals to stay in substandard housing, and when it gets like that we remove the animals and close the exhibits," he said. "We have a plan to repair them and bring them back on line. But it all costs money."

He said an estimate for accreditation repairs in just one of the zoo's three main areas was $5 million. Kranz said he and Hutchinson will meet with the accreditation commission in September.

"I hope we can get enough accomplished to show that we are working on it," Kranz said. "I'm concerned that the list is pretty long and we're not going to have time to tackle everything."

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