Letters to the Editor: L.A. Zoo’s messy breakup comes ‘with heartbreak and deja vu’ for former GLAZA employee

To the editor: As a five-year employee of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. from 1994 to 1999, I watch the messy breakup of the Los Angeles Zoo and its 501(c)(3) support organization with heartbreak and deja vu (“Inside the L.A. Zoo’s messy $50-million breakup,” July 1).

In 1995, the long-neglected zoo was on the verge of losing its accreditation for antiquated exhibits, animal deaths and deteriorating infrastructure. Strained relations between the L.A. Zoo and GLAZA are as old as the zoo itself. It was an imperfect situation, but over the following 10 years, both organizations were able to come together to create a master plan that brought modern chimpanzee and orangutan exhibits, a state-of-the-art animal hospital and a modern animal contact area for children. The reinvigorated L.A. Zoo became a cherished civic treasure reflecting our great city’s cultural mosaic, a place where everyone could embrace the diversity of the natural world.

Realizing this success required tremendous work regaining the trust of the philanthropic community, which has been sorely tested over the past couple of decades. Without a support organization, the city will be accountable for the L.A. Zoo’s current and future challenges.

Perhaps the L.A. Zoo’s greatest trait as a public zoo is that admission is affordable — less than half the price of the San Diego Zoo — to provide access for a wider audience. A world-class city like Los Angeles, with its extraordinary and conspicuous wealth, deserves a world-class zoo that can teach us as much about ourselves as about animals.

John Collinson, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Los Angeles city officials think they own the $50 million collected by GLAZA. Deputy City Atty. Steven Son claims that those who contributed to GLAZA were really donating to the city.

What a total bunch of — to keep it polite — baloney. I donated for many years and at no time did I think I was giving money to L.A. It was for the zoo only. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous.

Joan Maggs, Granada Hills