Stone Zoo Could Lose Accreditation If Gov. Doesn't Release $2.2M

Stone Zoo could lose its accreditation if the governor doesn’t release more than $2 million in state funding for the facility, according to a Stoneham Independent report.

»Via the Stoneham Independent

A delegation of Democratic state legislators joined representatives from Zoo New England, the group that manages Stone Zoo, held a press conference at the Stoneham zoo during a neighborhood meeting Monday to rally public support to have Gov. Charles Baker release the about $2.2 million, the report stated.

Losing accreditation would be a serious blow to Stone Zoo. Although the 26-acre facility wouldn’t close down, a lack of accreditation—a designation only 10 percent of the 2,400 licensed U.S. animal exhibitors hold—would limit some of the the zoo’s programming options, such as displaying exotic animals on loan from other accredited outlets, the report added.

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The government money would be used to deal with the upgrades the Association of Zoos and Aquariums requires for Stone Zoo to keep its accreditation, the report stated. Some of the areas that need addressed are firxing insufficient fencing around some animal exhibits and updating and better maintaining the restrooms, the report added.