A cash donation may help save Toronto's oldest zoo.
The Honey Family Foundation will match donations of up to $50,000 to the High Park Zoo dollar for dollar.
The High Park Zoo is made up of enclosed areas on either side of Deer Pen Road. It contains 50 animals, including bison, deer, llamas, peacocks, yaks, wallabies and highland cattle.
The zoo was set to be closed down after its operating budget was cut from the Toronto city budget in February. The zoo needs $100,000 to stay open for the rest of this year, and must prove to the city by June 2012 that it is financially sustainable.
"This zoo has been around for 112 years -- it's the oldest zoo, survived two world wars, the Great Depression, how can we close it now?" said Sarah Doucette, councillor for Parkdale-High Park.
The zoo is open year-round from 7 a.m. until dusk, and there is no admission fee to enter the zoo area. It costs the city about $227,000 a year to keep the zoo open.
Friends of High Park Zoo, a not-for-profit group created to generate support, has been raising funds through colouring book sales, admission donations and donations collected by High Park's Grenadier Café. High Park and Mountview Alternative Schools have also created committees to help with fundraising efforts.
So far, organizers have raised more than $37,000.
"It's garnering everyone in the community to come forward, to act, to donate whatever you can do to help us," said Rebecca Davies of the Friends of High Park Zoo.
The group said they are also working on a business plan to keep the zoo open for years to come.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Bill Hutchison.
