A significant chapter in Long Island’s history is coming to a close as its largest and most contentious zoo prepares to shut its doors. This decision follows a unanimous vote by local officials to withdraw funding and relocate the zoo’s animals, who have reportedly suffered from severe mistreatment, to rescue facilities.

In a decisive 7-0 vote, Brookhaven’s Town Board approved the 2026 budget on Thursday night, effectively sealing the fate of the Holtsville Ecology Center’s zoo. This outcome delivers a conclusive blow to community members who have been advocating for the continuation of taxpayer funding to keep the animal sanctuary operational.

“To properly manage this facility, we would need to significantly increase our investment and resources,” stated Town Supervisor Dan Panico during the board meeting. His comments highlighted the challenges the town faced in maintaining the zoo to acceptable standards.

The newly adopted budget, totaling $367 million, eliminates the over $2 million annually allocated for the zoo’s operational expenses. Previously managed by the town’s Highway Department, the zoo’s funding was cut as officials determined it lay outside the core services that local government should provide.

Town officials argued the zoo fell outside the basic services that local government should be providing.

The free-to-access zoo, which operated at a yearly loss, currently houses roughly 100 animals, a majority of which were rescued or donated and can’t survive in the wild on their own anymore.

They range from bald eagles and bobcats to buffalo and farm livestock that are now set to be relocated to various sanctuaries that officials said can handle their needs. 

But the zoo’s alleged conditions have fueled bitter online attacks and board-meeting battles.

The accusations include letting a mountain lion drown, cutting staph infections out of Larry the rooster’s feet without anesthesia, ignoring Honey the bear’s rotting teeth as she wasted away in a tiny enclosure while also spraying her with a high-powered hose, and failing to treat Nessy the Peking duck’s lead poisoning, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The head caretaker of the center, Kristin Layer, previously accused Panico and other “Crookhaven” officials of closing the zoo over “politics” and in order to reallocate funds to give themselves a raise.

“The REAL REASON for the ‘closure’ is because of ‘budget cuts’ YET our town [leaders] gave themselves over $30,000 raises this year INCLUDING [Town Supervisor] Dan Panico,” Layer said in an Instagram rant in September. 

The 2026 budget boosts the local elected representatives’ salaries by roughly $30,000 total — or raises of about $3,000 to $4,000 per official.

But Panico and other town officials have flatly denied Layer’s claims of any salary-bump trade-off, saying the abuse allegations involving the zoo, combined with its soaring costs, limited staff and decades-old infrastructure, made it impossible to justify keeping the operation running.

Jennifer Ramos, who lives near the zoo, said she was “devastated” by the facility’s closing and doesn’t mind her tax dollars being spent on the sanctuary. 

“It’s very sad, I take my grandkids here all of the time, and they love it,” she said.

“But if they’re mistreating the animals, they have got to go,” Ramos said. “The whole point of that place is to take care of animals that can’t take care of themselves.”