Tiger Gives Birth at San Francisco Zoo, Animal Welfare Commission to meet

The Sumatran tiger at the San Francisco Zoo gave birth on Thursday as citizens concerned about conditions for the animals at the zoo gear up for next weeks meeting with The San Francisco Commission on Animal Control and Welfare.

The commission is scheduled to vote on a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding animal welfare issues at the San Francisco Zoo on Thursday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall

"This new tiger cub has been born into a world where zoo management puts animals last" say the director of Citizens Lobbying for Animals in Zoos "Now is the time we forever change the ethos at San Francisco Zoo for this young cub and all of the animals."

The current system at the zoo involves buying, trading and selling animals to zoos across the USA without regard for animal welfare. Many of the exhibits including The Lion House are over 70 years old and date back to the 1940s, when the zoo was first built.

In 1997, San Francisco voters passed a $48 million bond measure sold to the public as a mechanism to help the animals at the zoo, yet much of this money was spent on visitor concessions such as the gift shop and café. Over a decade later, many animals continue to suffer in outdated enclosures that zoo experts have said resemble "third world"

Visit http://www.clazsf.com for details about the plan to turn the San Francisco Zoo into a rescue zoo.

The public is encouraged to attend The San Francisco Commission on Animal Control and Welfare meeting.

Commission Meeting on SF Zoo
Thursday, March 13, 2008, 5:30 p.m.
San Francisco City Hall , 1 Dr Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 408 (fourth floor)