NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa said he’s open to “phasing out” the Bronx Zoo and other zoos if he’s elected mayor.
Sliwa told the Daily News Editorial Board in a report Wednesday that he’s concerned about the welfare of animals at the zoos but that he’d approach the issue on a “case-by-case” basis and “keep an open mind.”
The 67-year-old Guardian Angels founder and animal rights activist, who lives with 17 cats at his Upper West Side apartment, said he’d consult with experts and animal welfare specialists before making any decisions.
“I certainly think in a lot of instances we’ve gotta be a phasing out these zoos — definitely the circuses and the rodeos and all that because of the barbaric behavior, the inhumane behavior towards the animals,” Sliwa said.
“Eventually we’re going to have to start phasing out zoos, or at least some of the animals that are housed in zoos,” he added.
Each New York City borough has a zoo or wildlife center, in addition to the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn. The Bronx Zoo is among the largest in the U.S.
“I do remember going to Prospect Park as a young boy and the Central Park Zoo and marveling at everything, but I have heard how it has caused a lot of problems for animals themselves,” Sliwa said.
The issue came up when Sliwa was asked about Happy the Elephant, who animal rights activists have been trying to free from the Bronx Zoo for years.
Sliwa said that he visited the elephant exhibit with his sons and wondered if zoos are “the most humane way of keeping animals.”
“I don’t think it serves a lot of these animals well to be housed in zoos,” he said.
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