The LA Zoo, saddened and bereft of members, needs an independent manager, which is found by a grand jury

A Los Angeles County civil judge says the LA Zoo cannot continue to operate as it has been – citing the deterioration of its facilities and rapidly declining membership. The judge calls for a new relationship between the public and the private sector, saying that action is essential for the institution to continue to live.

The Los Angeles Zoo is America’s last major city-run zoo. Managing it, the report notes, requires navigating a legal jungle that includes the zoo commission, neighborhood councils, the city attorney, the city administrator and other departments, as well as the mayor and City Council.

The judge found that the city, facing financial problems that include a $1 million budget shortfall this year, will continue to struggle to manage the zoo, which has fallen into disrepair and lacks funds for maintenance and new projects amid a loss of revenue.

According to the report, the zoo’s membership dropped from 36,914 in April 2025 to 28,440 in February 2026, representing a loss of 8,474 members, or a 23% decrease in less than one year.

“Simply put, in order to maintain these important educational institutions, nearly all zoos across the United States have turned to public-private partnerships,” the public’s grand jury wrote. 2025-2026 report.

The judge acknowledged that change would be difficult.

“Zoo reform is very complex, involving a series of disciplines, authority, management, supervision, personnel, resources, maintenance, construction, finances, and care of animals (acquisition, exhibits, and condition),” the report reads. “Every agency involved, director, and manager must understand that this is not a ‘win-win’ situation, but a question of ‘What’s best for the Zoo?'”

The public grand jury’s recommendation comes as the city is embroiled in a legal dispute over a $50 million grant with the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn., a longtime fundraising partner.

For nearly five decades, GLAZA has assisted the zoo with exhibit funding, plant and animal conservation, major projects, and educational and outreach programs, according to the report.

“A public zoo needs constant nourishment to thrive,” the report reads. “Ezu, without the important participation of volunteers, is supported by money.”

The judge noted that it’s usually a wealthy benefactor or nonprofit that generates that money, and for years the Los Angeles Zoo believed it had that in GLAZA.

“When that belief turned into crime, our zoo’s future was in jeopardy,” the report reads. “Its relationship with GLAZA is now shattered, washed ashore on the rocky shores of a major lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.”

In giving its recommendation, the judge suggested that the city look at other successful private-public partnerships including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art or the Natural History Museum.

Each is run by a non-profit organization with some of its leadership directly appointed by the District Board of Managers.

The Los Angeles Zoo, which houses more than 1,600 animals, has fallen into disrepair over the years. Exhibits featuring lions, bears, sea lions and pelicans are closed because they need major renovations. The last two elephants, Billy and Tina, were transferred last year to the Tulsa Zoo after decades of campaigns by animal rights advocates about living conditions and the history of death and life challenges.

The 59-year-old zoo, which occupies 133 acres in the northeast corner of Griffith Park, has struggled to maintain its national accreditation, as federal regulators found peeling paint and rust in some exhibits.

US Department of Agriculture Inspectors and Assn. Zoos and Aquariums have experienced a “significant lack of funding and staffing for even basic maintenance,” LA Zoo officials wrote in a November 2024 budget document.

A public grand jury made similar comments when it visited the zoo as part of its investigation.

“The Zoo is a special, public property with natural exhibits, conservation efforts, animal communication, and intensive programs, providing such information takes money, a lot,” the public grand jury wrote in its report. “The city of Los Angeles today can no longer tolerate or carry that burden on its budget.”

To protect the zoo’s legacy, the report recommended that the city begin looking for a new beneficiary by at least next April, preferably someone familiar with public-private zoo relationships to help with the transition.

Times staff writer Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.