Brookhaven Town supervisor Dan Panico announced on Sept. 29 that the town will close the Holtsville Ecology Site Zoo & Animal Refuge next year.

The Holtsville Ecology Center has faced controversy over the past year following whistleblower workers detailing the allegedly cruel treatment of animals, including that of Honey the black bear, who died last fall after reportedly suffering from broken teeth, urinary infections, and severe stress.

Panico said that birds and mammals from the site will be transferred to Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) “approved and accredited rescue facilities between now and the end of the first quarter of 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.”

The town said the decision to close the center was due to the cost to taxpayers, and that “operating an animal refuge did not fit the town’s priorities serving residents in the future.”

The closure is expected to save Brookhaven taxpayers approximately $2 million per year if the center closes at the start of next year.

Since the start of the year, 13 whistleblowers from the Holtsville Ecology Center have come out to talk about allegedly abusive conditions at the zoo, including a goat with a large abscess on its neck, a skunk with cancer, and crow infected with West Nile virus, according to the animal rights group PETA.

John Di Leonardo, president of Humane Long Island and leader in the fight for change at the Holtsville Ecology Center, said he was happy to see the town make the right decision in closing the center, but cautioned that the animals are transferred to reputable and safe places where they won’t face the same treatment they received in Holtsville.

“The town has failed these animals time and time again,” Di Leonardo said. “They need to recognize the issues at Holtsville.”

Di Leonardo said his organization, Humane Long Island, has offered to help with the placement of animals from the Holtsville Ecology Center to reputable rescue centers for free and as soon as possible.

As of Sept. 30, Di Leonardo has not received word from the town regarding the placement of animals with them, and is concerned that the town may not prioritize the centers’ best interests, instead emptying the zoo solely for tax reasons.

“I could move a vast number of those animals today,” Di Leonardo said.