LOCAL UPDATE - Zoo Shut Down Plan in Place

from WDIV Detroit Channel 4

The Detroit Zoo closing is under way, and many different officials are saying different things.

The City Council said it is not ready to hand over control of the zoo; Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said the city cannot afford to keep the zoo; Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said that the metro park system could handle the zoo; and zoo officials say something needs to be done fast.

Though deadlines have passed, the city is moving ahead with the process, and has put together a
shutdown plan.

Wednesday, the director of the Detroit Zoo will receive a call from the city Human Resources Department, advising zoo officials to enact the shutdown plan.

The plan is written out in stages:

Stage one
Layoffs will include administrative staff and guest services.

Stage two
Layoffs will include seasonal staff, gardeners and zookeepers.

Stage three
Layoffs will include remaining zookeepers and the animals will be moved.

Stage four
Layoffs will include zookeepers and veterinarians.

The entire shutdown process could take about 12 months. Zoo officials are going back to the state to see if they can receive aid. If the zoo begins to lay off employees, it can call them back, but once the animals are moved, the process will be harder to stop, according to the station's reports.

The zoo will remain open to the public through May 1, 2006.