Public Correspondence

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. From: kim To: Board of Supervisors (BOS) Subject: Our Zoo, Panda Funding and Other Thoughts Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2026 6:10:52 AM Hello Members of the Board of Supervisors, Below are links to four recent posts to my Zoo related blog. I am forwarding these to you, as I believe each one contains information that should be of interest. At the very least, words I'd like to share. >April 12 *All Entities Taking Responsibility, Revisiting Restructuring & Redefining Management https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2026/04/all-entities-taking-responsibility.html >April 26 *Is The Selfish Panda Want Setting Our Zoo Up To Fail? https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2026/04/is-selfish-panda-want-setting-our-zoo.html >May 2 *The Audit Findings -Excuse Me, But NO F**KING SHIT https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-audit-findings-excuse-me-but-no.html >May 2 *The Audit -Furthermore To Zoo Board and City Officials... Do Not Say It!!! https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-audit-furthermore-to-zoo-board-and.html Thank you Kim Forwood This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. From: Fleur Dawes To: Jalipa, Brent (BOS) Subject: Public comment and documents for file Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026 10:24:43 AM Attachments: MEDIA RELEASE Sneaky City Audit Release Shows San Francisco Zoo Hid $12 M in Unauthorized Spending as Politicians Push for $8.5 M Bailout & $27.5 M Panda Boondoggle POL Westerman, Gosar Lead Investigation into CCP’s “Save the Panda” Program _ House Committee on Natural Resources.pdf POL 2024.12.19_panda_letter.pdf SF Chronicle SF Zoo audit.png Dear Clerk Jalipa Please find a comment below and documents attached which I request be place on the public record. Thank you for confirming that they are now on record. Fleur Dawes In Defense of Animals 415-879-6878 ____________ Good morning, Chair and Committee members. My name is Fleur Dawes, I represent over a quarter million supporters of In Defense of Animals, Panda Voices, and SF Zoo Watch. I respectfully urge you to vote NO on the $8.5 million bailout for the San Francisco Zoological Society. We acknowledge the CEO stepped down, but changing the captain does not salvage a sinking ship. The City’s own audit proves this operator fractured public trust. When accountability is erased, public money is laid to waste. They didn't just bend rules; they broke the bank. San Francisco Zoogical Society hid $12 million in unauthorized spending, masked structural deficits, and ran city-owned heritage buildings into the ground. Combined with the Animal Welfare Commission’s dire warnings, the suffering of animals, staff, and city property is undeniable. Worse, they want this handout to pave the way for a ruinous $27.5 million panda project—a vanity scheme currently under federal investigation for financial misappropriation. We cannot finance foreign schemes, while our facilities rip at the seams. Past oversight was asleep at the wheel, but you can take back the keys today. Approving this bailout tells every city contractor that a long relationship excuses chronic failure. Do not reward contract violations with a blank check. Reject this bailout, and instead build EcoPark SF—a sustainable sanctuary that benefits our community. Please; choose a visionary park, not a financial shot in the dark. Thank you. Westerman, Gosar Lead Investigation into CCP’s “Save the Panda” Program WASHINGTON, D.C., December 19, 2024 | Committee Press Office (202-225-2761) Tags: Oversight and Investigations Today, House Committee on Natural Resource Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Martha Willams on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) misuse of American donor funds intended for panda conservation. In part, the members wrote: "China’s effort to dupe zoos and American donors into paying for infrastructure development and other projects unrelated to wildlife conservation under the guise of "save the pandas" is unsurprising. China is "widely recognized as the world’s largest market for trafficked wildlife products." Beyond China’s domestic demand for illegal wildlife products, the Chinese government’s own wildlife-related regulatory scheme "creates opportunities for the illicit wildlife trade to flourish." Moreover, recent Chinese zoo scandals highlight the lack of seriousness with which China approaches conservation and wildlife education. In 2024, a Chinese zoo came under fire for painting Chow Chow dogs black and white in attempt to pass them off to visitors as pandas. After initially trying to fabricate a new animal called a “panda dog,” the Chinese zoo was forced to admit its scam. Comically, China’s dismal reputation for animal conservation is so well-known that, in 2023, it was forced to publicly deny that a Southeast Asian sun bear on display at a zoo was a man in a bear suit. “What is most surprising, however, is FWS’s eagerness to surrender ESA-related regulatory duties to zoos and to the Chinese government given the agency’s history of ruling over the ESA with an iron first. Although the purpose of listing species under the ESA is to aid in their recovery and delist the animals, FWS has historically worked relentlessly to keep species listed indefinitely. FWS’s disingenuous ESA enforcement and deference to the Chinese government deeply troubles the Committee." To read the full letter, click here. Background Giant Pandas are native to China and are loaned to zoos around the world as a part of a conservation lease program with the Chinese government. In November 2024, the New York Times reported that money earmarked for conservation, most of which came from American donors, was instead used to fund Chinese infrastructure projects. The Committee has been presented with additional information confirming the New York Times’ reporting, finding that the CCP duped American donors and that USFWS, responsible for oversight of the panda loan program, looked the other way. Specifically, USFWS did not maintain proper oversight of the funds provided to the CCP for the panda program and rubberstamped illicit payments to China. Press Release About Subcommittees Media Committee Activity Priorities ? ? ? ? ? ? 5/5/26, 9:18 AM Westerman, Gosar Lead Investigation into CCP’s “Save the Panda” Program | House Committee on Natural Resources https://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=416798 1/2 About Contact Privacy Policy Minority Contact Us Committee on Natural Resources 1324 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 P (202) 225-2761 F (202) 225-0534 ? 5/5/26, 9:18 AM Westerman, Gosar Lead Investigation into CCP’s “Save the Panda” Program | House Committee on Natural Resources https://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=416798 2/2