Despite criticism from animal welfare activists, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday that would allow certain government departments to seek donations from private organizations to help fund Mayor London Breed’s $25 million effort to house panda bears at the San Francisco Zoo.
The vote was 9-2 in favor of the proposal, with board president Aaron Peskin and Supervisor Hillary Ronen voting against the resolution.
Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Joel Engardio sponsored the resolution with Breed. It will grant Breed a behested payments waiver that was needed in order ask for money from private entities.
In order to raise this money, Breed had to first be granted an ethics rules waiver since San Francisco’s behested payments ordinance prevents city officials from soliciting private donations. The ordinance is an ethics rule that restricts city officials from receiving private funding, which can influence their decision-making and cause corruption.
The mayor’s office has provided a list of organizations they intend to approach for donations, while departments asking for funding must disclose the reasons a certain private party is interested. Those were among amendments to the resolution added to “maximize transparency” and help prevent potential conflicts of interest between the mayor and private donors, Supervisor Dean Preston said.
Panda pushback
However, there has been significant resistance from opponents of the plans to bring pandas into the zoo.
In Defense of Animals, an animal advocacy organization, handed out petitions to supervisors before Tuesday’s board meeting with over 7,000 signatures urging them to not allow pandas to reside at the zoo.
“City leaders have failed the zoo’s animals in their care by bypassing ethics laws and pushing a misguided plan to bring pandas to a struggling San Francisco Zoo,” said Justin Barker, founder of SF Zoo Watch, an organization that aims to bring the zoo’s alleged negligence for animals and workers to light.
Animal advocates allege that dilapidated conditions and poor management of the zoo make it unsuitable for bringing in pandas.
“San Francisco leadership has a responsibility to prioritize animal welfare and stop the ongoing deplorable conditions,” Barker said.
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