Zoo New England, which runs the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and the companion Stone Zoo in suburban Stoneham, warned late last week that if the cuts stood, it would be forced to lay off most of its 165 employees and some of its 1,000 animals could possibly have to be euthanized.
It stepped back from that claim over the weekend, saying "there are no plans for the zoo to euthanize any animals in the collection as a result of the budget cuts," but that failed to quell the resulting fury.
Gov. Deval Patrick sent out assurances that no animal would be killed or was ever truly threatened with euthanasia. He said the zoo had responded to the cut "by spreading inaccurate and incendiary information."
"Nobody has ever been talking about shutting the operations down and euthanizing the animals and I think it was unhelpful and irresponsible to suggest otherwise," Patrick said Monday.
Patrick had included the cuts among $147 million he vetoed from the $27 billion budget.
The financial problems plaguing the Boston zoos reflect the tough times for their counterparts across the country.
In April, the nation's largest city zoo - the 114-year-old Bronx Zoo in New York - said it would need to send away deer, bats, foxes, antelopes and other creatures to zoos around the country and that it would be closing four exhibits to close a $15 million budget shortfall.
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo said zoos provides families with an inexpensive, local distraction in tough economic times. He supports restoring funding to the Boston-area zoos, but did not say where lawmakers would find the money to do so.
"With the amount of support and calls I have gotten from membership, I dare say that this is one of those items that I think will be overridden," DeLeo said.
John Linehan, president and chief executive of Zoo New England, issued a brief statement Monday night saying the zoo was optimistic.
"We are working very hard with the state legislature and the Governor's office to resolve this very complex issue and we're hopeful of a positive outcome," said Linehan, who added that he was grateful for the outpouring of support the zoo has received.
The $4 million cut leaves the zoos with $2.5 million in state funding. The state contributes about two-thirds of the zoos' annual budget.
Patrick's administration argues Zoo New England could consider raising admission prices, stepping up contribution efforts or eliminating restrictions requiring free admissions to large percentages of annual zoo visitors.
Zookeepers leveled a similar threat in 1990 when they also faced a budget cut.
Officials at the Metropolitan District Commission, which then operated Franklin Park, also said older or less popular animals might have to be killed to save money.
Steve Feldman, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said euthanasia "is not part of modern zoological practice" for managing collections. He also noted the association has no record of any accredited zoo that has been forced to close due to budget cuts.
He stressed that zoos work as coalitions to help preserve endangered and threatened animals and that other zoos or institutions would step up to help find homes for the animals, should it come to that.
"I think what we're all saying is that we love animals and that we support our zoos and we understand that lawmakers have to make very tough choices during tough times. Those are their choices to make," he said.
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