By Hank Russell
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico announced that the town is planning on closing the Holtsville Ecology Site Zoo & Animal Refuge. Panico says the birds and mammals will be transferred to animal rescue facilities accredited and approved by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) between now and the end of March 2026.
“We want to make sure all the animals go to a place where they should be,” Panico said. “I think people’s attitudes [about zoos] in general in society have changed. … It’s so far out of the scope of what the town government should be doing, that especially in these budgetary times … you should dedicate the precious tax dollars you get toward the operation of the building department and parks and things of that nature.”
According to the town’s website, the Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve was the site of a landfill, this site has been carefully rehabilitated since its closure in 1974. Through the efforts of the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department, what was once a waste dump has become a recreational and educational facility. The site has over 100 injured or non-releasable wild animals and farm animals that are available for viewing.
Panico says the animals will be well cared for while being relocated. The main reasons for the change after decades of running the zoo are the cost to taxpayers and operating an animal refuge did not fit the town’s priorities for serving residents in the future.