The Friends of Chippewa Park say they are "shocked" to learn that city of Thunder Bay administrators are recommending the permanent closure of the Chippewa Park Wildlife Exhibit.
In a news release distributed on Tuesday by Iain Angus—a city councillor who also serves as secretary for the organization—the lobby group takes issue with a proposal to shut down the exhibit as of May 1, 2017, as a component of the new operating budget.
"Viewing of wild animals has been part of the fabric of Chippewa Park since 1924," the release quoted Friends of Chippewa president Lorraine Lortie-Krawczuk. "For Council to even consider eliminating this quality of life feature is unacceptable," she added.
Lortie-Krawczuk said that her group doesn't understand why city administration would make this recommendation "when Council is funding the creation of a new Vision Statement for Chippewa...and that vision has yet to be completed or even presented to Council."
She said that the move flies in the face of the public engagement framework recently approved by council.
Lortie-Krawczuk noted that "the last time the city included the future of the Wildlife Exhibit in its Citizen Survey (2005 and 2007) 75 per cent to 77 per cent supported maintaining or enhancing" it.
She added the Friends of Chippewa are now launching a petition requesting that funding for the exhibit be reinserted in the budget, and for work to begin on converting it to a Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre.
The chair of council's budget and finance committee, Councillor Frank Pullia, told tbnewswatch.com that closing the wildlife display would result in net annual savings of about $83,000.
Pullia, who supports the proposal, said the community needs to ask "Do we really need it if it's not being used as much as it could be?...I think the time has come to move on and close the zoo."
However, he expects the idea will be thoroughly debated by council.
