Future of Fejervary Zoo: Task force says remove exotic animals

The permanent animal collection at Fejervary Zoo in Davenport would be discontinued in favor of a contracted-out petting zoo, under a recommendation reached by a zoo task force.

Use of Fejervary Park instead would focus on environmental education, ecology and other activities that would complement the Putnam Museum, task force members said.

“We want it to be an interactive, educational opportunity,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Bill Boom, who served on the task force. “I just think pulling all these elements together will make Fejervary more of a destination, and that’s what we’re looking for.”

The task force will present its report to the City Council at Wednesday’s Committee-of-the-Whole meeting at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. Final action on the zoo’s future will have to be approved by the entire council.

During budget meetings earlier this year, the City Council struggled with what to do about a zoo that has seen an increase in animal mortality, rising operational costs and aging infrastructure.

Tom Stalf, director of Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, Ill., served on the task force as an animal consultant. He recommended that the city contract out animals from the highly respected Miller Petting Zoo near Geneseo, Ill. The animals owned by the Millers are hand-raised and subject to regular inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We get a lot of compliments on the health, cleanliness and friendliness of our animals, and that’s all possible because we raise them ourselves,” owner Dennis Miller said. “We’re excited about the possibility of working with Fejervary.”

Contracting with Miller could save operational costs as well, said Alderman Ian Frink, At-Large. The current zoo budget is about $150,000 and using Miller for animals would likely cost one-fourth that amount, he said.

New homes would be found for the 93 animals currently housed at the zoo. Stalf said many already belong to area farmers, and there is great demand for the rest among animal sanctuaries.

“That’s not going to be a problem,” Stalf said of finding new permanent homes for the outgoing animals.

There also will be a question of what to do with the five part-time zoo staff members. Boom thinks most would either remain in some capacity at the Fejervary Park eco center or find other jobs in the parks department.

Kim Findlay, president and CEO of the Putnam Museum — and a member of the zoo task force — said she sees a ton of opportunity for a newly refocused museum hill/Fejervary Park area.

“When we look at the future of Fejervary Park and the hill here, we want for this to be a thriving destination that people want to come to,” she said. “We want what’s best for the community.”

Environmental education is growing in popularity, Findlay said. Both the parks department and the Putnam provide some programming in that area. Rebranding the Fejervary area as an eco park makes sense, she said.

“When you talk about environmental education, you’re talking about educating kids about the wonders of nature, aspects of living things like animals and plants and how they all fit together and impact our lives,” she said. “It’s a matter of finding fun, engaging ways to connect children and their families to learning more about these connections and the responsibilities we have.”

Stalf noted that putting together a first-class destination spot with lots of interactivity could take a few years to develop.

“They will have to take baby steps to make this park what it will eventually be,” he said. “You can’t expect Davenport to dump tons of money into this facility immediately. It’s going to have to be done incrementally.”

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com.