Beloved NJ Zoo Closed After It Was Hit By Ida Flooding

PISCATAWAY, NJ — In a stunning surprise decision, Middlesex County announced Monday it will be permanently closing Johnson Park Animal Haven, a small petting zoo in Piscataway.

The closure of Johnson Park is effective immediately. It is actually an animal rescue group that takes injured farm animals and rehabilitates them. It was open daily to the public to see and pet the animals.

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This comes after Tropical Storm Ida badly hit the Piscataway area on Sept. 1 and 2, and the zoo was flooded. Photos of zoo animals such as goats, horses and sheep standing in murky brown flood water went viral on Facebook, and hundreds of people were calling for the zoo to be shut down or the animals to be relocated.

Middlesex County said it was closing the zoo due to the risk of increased flooding at Johnson Park.

"After careful consideration and comprehensive research, and in recognition of the increasing threat that severe weather poses to Johnson Park, the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners have made the decision to close," said the county in a statement Monday. "The process to move all animals from the haven to new homes across the state is underway."

However, no animals died during the Ida-flooding at Johnson Park, said a Middlesex County spokeswoman, despite social media rumors to the contrary.

"All animals, including birds, turkeys, deer, goats, pigs, sheep, horses and alpaca, were accounted for during the entire storm event," she said. "Animals were either shepherded to higher, drier ground, or moved to the other Animal Haven in Thompson Park (Monroe Township). No animals from Johnson Park were missing, deceased or injured as a result of the storm or the rising waters of the Raritan River."

Unfortunately the day of the storm, Sept. 1, a pig did drown at nearby Merrill Park Animal Haven in Iselin, when that park experienced sudden flooding from the south branch of the Rahway River.

"Our Park Rangers and Parks and Recreation staff immediately responded to this unprecedented flooding, and along with two park patrons, entered the enclosures and rescued the animals," said the county spokeswoman. "Unfortunately, upon entering the pig enclosure, it was discovered that one pig had passed away. All other animals in this haven were successfully rescued."

Johnson Park is in a very low-lying area of Piscataway along the Raritan River; the park itself completely flooded when the Raritan River rose 24 feet in one day, cresting at 42 feet. Piscataway suffered some of the worst flooding in the state in Ida.

“Due to Johnson Park’s location within a flood plain and the real, undeniable threat of climate change, it is in the best interest of the animals to close the Johnson Park Animal Haven and re-home them in more resilient locations," said the Middlesex County Board of Commissioners.

The Johnson Park Animal Haven in Piscataway was hit pretty hard by flooding during Ida, and not for the first time. And while officials are still "picking up the pieces," no decision has been made about what to do going forward.
https://t.co/OVpxKBV8r4
— MyCentralJersey (@MyCentralJersey) October 13, 2021

Animals at the Johnson’s Park Zoo in Piscataway, NJ have nowhere to seek refuge as the Raritan River overflows it’s banks in the wake of Ida. #digCommSU pic.twitter.com/kDDj5dQAJb
— Stacey Daly (@StaceyDaly74) September 2, 2021

The county was not critical of the owners of the zoo, however.

“For generations, Middlesex County families have visited the animals at the Johnson Park Animal Haven; the park has not only brought joy to those families on their visits but provided a much-needed home for animals that would otherwise be euthanized or be unable to survive in the wild. We recognize and appreciate the support that has been given to the haven throughout the years,” said the Board of County Commissioners.

Middlesex County worked with the Friends of the Johnson Park Animals, as well as local animal sanctuaries and zoos, plus the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to find new homes for the zoo animals.

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