As the Jackson Zoo's animals disappear, so do the visitors. Less than 10,000 people visited the zoo in the last year, a far cry from the attendance of nearly 101,000 the zoo enjoyed as recently as 2017. It is another setback for the ever-struggling facility.
JJ obtained the attendance records through a public records request. Posted below is the monthly attendance.
September 2024 753 October 2024 1622 November 2024 444 December 2024 298 January 2025 256 February 2025 194 March 2025 1081 April 2025 1033 May 2025 730 June 2025 1427 July 2025 1533 August 2025 625 Total: 9,9962019: 48,114
2018: 73,000
2017: 100,963
The 2019 attendance was considered disastrous and bankrupted the zoo. The city of Jackson took over zoo operations in 202. The Zoo lost its AZA accreditation under the city's tenure while the financial picture continued to worsen.
JJ obtained an income statement through a public records request. Zoo admissions only generated $42,711 from October 2024 to September 2025. The city of Jackson sank $1.6 million into the zoo, thus spending $160 per visitor compared to $16 per visitor in 2017.
Major expenses are salaries ($657,000), feed ($77,000), vet ($82,000), insurance ($174,000), and PERS contributions ($114,000).
Admissions generated $266,000 in 2019 and $322,000 in 2018. The city contributed $1.1 million each year.
The animals are also disappearing with the visitors and revenue. The collection only has 118 animals. It enjoyed a population of 338 animals in 2018. The zoo population is aging and more animals continue to die off.
Kingfish note: What will the city do? The Jackson Zoo is no-where close to sustainable as the financial numbers show. Unfortunately, the City Council has its head stuck in the sand.
The zoo's councilman, Vernon Hartley, refuses to consider closing or moving the zoo as he reflects his years of government service. Clay refuses to accept reality while Parkinson says the city should shrink the zoo's footprint. Only Foote seems to support moving or closing. Mayor Horhn made it clear the city needs to make some major decisions regarding the zoo's future.
The city does not have the money to improve the collection or conduct a proper advertising campaign. However, time and nature may make the decision for the city as the animals continue to pass away.
Let's see if that Papa fella will report on this since he likes to say I only write stuff critical of Jackson.
28 comments:
I went to the Jackson zoo on Earth Day 2018. Even then it was terrible with many of the exhibits closed and rotting wood flooring and railing at the concession stand. I don't know how it could get any worse because the zoo was absolutely terrible even then.
CLOSE THE ZOO!! Make a sound and prudent business decision and close the zoo. Stop the bleeding, save the money, cut your losses, or whatever money saving cliche you want to use.
Meanwhile the Hattiesburg Zoo has a line to get in the door on weekends with a third of the population and no large suburbs. They also don’t have people racing ATVs downtown, shootings all around their university campus, or a judiciary that thinks punishment for committing crimes is colonial racism.
The Jackson Zoo is a wonderful facility. It is a clear real time visual example and reflection of the City of Jackson. Also, it provides a historical perspective of how Jackson has evolved and continues in a death spiral.
If anyone has one brain cell left after liberal indoctrination, just look at the Zoo purely from a standpoint of what it was, to what it is. This is what happens when incompetent democrats are driving the bus. For the voters, the leaders of Jackson look at you the same way they look at the zoo.
Are these 10,000 visitors legitimate? Is it possible to fudge that number? I'm not sure I buy there is even that few visiting the Zoo.
Pretty simple math.
The Hattiesburg Zoo is wonderful, and as an added bonus you won't get shot at or carjacked driving through a hood.
Based on how Jackson runs everything and the animal shelter disaster, I have to think the animals are being poorly cared for. Sell the animals and close it. Could at least put a little money back in the coffers for the politicians to steal and give to their buddy contractors
Will Horhn have the backbone to shut down the zoo? Only time will tell.
Lots of "no show" jobs there.
It’s managed just like the rest of Jackson. Incompetently. Let the homeless have it.
I worked at the Jackson zoo as a keeper back in the early 2000s. The people that have ran this zoo to the ground are the same ones that have been there for 30+ years.
How much money has the city spent on this failing venture over the past 10 years?
City has been contributing $1 million a year since 2014. However, it has risen to nearly $2 million over the last few years. Bare bones, its a $1.8 million annual operation.
When a visitor pays in cash does that money occasionally get diverted?
Amazing the cost to feed the poor animals is the lowest expense. Imagine that. Lock it down!!!
1962guy is correct. What the Jackson Zoo was compared to what it is today, is all due to idiot and criminal leftist Democrats.
Democrats destroyed the Zoo like Democrats destroyed Jackson. And the terrible part is, many Democrats, especially the White Democrats, won’t even live in their Democrat cities, but instead, move to the Republican suburbs telling us how smart they are, hell bent on destroying our cities also.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could make Democrats live in their Democrat cities, and stay the hell away from ours. Then we wouldn’t have to deal with the lawlessness crime and perversion of children that Democrats love so much, or have to listen to their liberal leftist indoctrinated horse s__t.
I understand the desire many in Jackson leadership have to keep an amenity like the zoo, but the best thing they could do for the City and the animals is close the zoo. The resources it requires would be better spent elsewhere at this time. If the City ever manages to deliver basic municipal services properly, then they could revisit the issue and entertain proposals to revitalize the zoo, preferably with a lot of private funding.
@11:16, whatever the visitor number it would be a mistake to assume that all visitors are paying the entrance fee.
I totally agree and as long as they are allowed to continue running the zoo it will never go no where but down. What has this person accomplished in his years there? Not a damn thing but a paycheck!
Still waiting for the idiot who comments on almost every PERS post claiming that the decrease in the number of public employees is the cause of the PERS problems. I'm sure that brilliant mind would like to defend keeping the zoo open so that PERS will continue to receive the $114,000 in contributions.
The destruction of publicly owned municipal assets that Democratic mayors have achieved in the last 10 years all across our country is astonishing.
The city knows it is throwing good money after bad. It simply doesn't have the fortitude to make hard but necessary decisions. That money should be spent elsewhere for the greater good.
Someone needs to call PETA national office. The animals are being abused the longer the zoo stays open.
Let’s be honest Jackson can’t afford the zoo. Just close it
Agree
The zoo declined precipitously every year that Chockwe A. Lumumba was in office, just like everything else in Jackson except crime.
I would love to see that $174,000 insurance policy on the zoo. I bet it is full of exclusions and limitations a normal, functioning, non-dilapidated zoo wouldn't have. I bet their inspections are pretty tough.
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