SACRAMENTO , Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Officials at California's Sacramento Zoo say plans for a new giraffe barn to replace the current dilapidated facility have run into funding problems.
Zoo officials said they raised $350,000 toward building a warm barn that is more than twice the size of the 50-year-old facility that houses the zoo's three giraffes, but they were told in December that the $1.5 million they asked the city of Sacramento to contribute to the construction is being spent on other projects, the Sacramento Bee reported Monday.
City budget officials said the money is going toward the Crocker Art Museum expansion, the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library, the George Sim Community Center and other projects given a higher priority by the City Council.
"Now, we're basically hoping for a miracle," said Terry Kastanis, president of the Sacramento Zoological Society, which runs the city-owned zoo. "We're hoping that the City Council gives this another look."
Officials said the future of the zoo's giraffes may depend on the new barn being constructed. An accreditation inspection in December found the current barn to be "substandard," and the accrediting agency, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, may force the zoo to close its giraffe exhibit if progress isn't made toward fixing the problem.
