Save the Animals (and heck, why not the people too?)

Maybe you got laid off or found yourself with a 5% pay cut, but you still want to enjoy a little rest and relaxation away from the old homestead. So you might embark on a road trip, and like approximately 8,000 other visitors a day, end up checking out the cheery denizens of the Bronx Zoo.

Unfortunately the critters are feeling the effects of the crap economy as well:

"Deer, bats, porcupines, foxes, lemurs, caimans and antelopes will be pink-slipped as part of the 114-year-old zoo's effort to cope with a $15 million budget shortfall. 'We plan to close four exhibits, four areas of the zoo . . . and we will have to reduce our collections in order to handle the cuts that we already know about,' said Bob Cook, executive vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the zoo...The shuttered displays were chosen based on maintenance costs and popularity among visitors, zoo officials said."

Oh really? I for one will be quite sad that they've chosen to ship out the World of Darkness, Rare Animal Range and exhibits of the Arabian oryx and blesbok. Who doesn't love night owl monkeys?

But I digress. Buried below all of the chest beatings and wailings for the lost creatures of the night is the note that "Mayor Bloomberg's budget cuts will slash the city's contribution by $1.7 million...Another $13.3 million is being lost because of reduced donations and cuts from other levels of government...This will mean human layoffs also."

--Posted by Linda Petock, Vault Senior Producer