Popcorn Park Zoo Gets Financial Help from Local Businesses

Evolution of Popcorn Park Zoo

Princess the camel lives at Popcorn Park Zoo.

Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey, N.J., isn’t your average Humane Society animal shelter. The facility opened in 1977 as “a refuge for wildlife that were sick, elderly, abandoned, abused or injured,” according to the Popcorn Park Zoo web site. Since then, the facility has evolved.

APP.com explains how the shelter and sanctuary came to house everyone from jungle animals to stray cats:

First, there were those picked up on animal control jobs that couldn’t be returned to the wild. Then came calls from people looking for a safe place to surrender exotic pets and farm animals, said Bergmann. The staff didn’t want to turn them away.

Now, the facility’s Popcorn Park Zoo is home to 200 animals, including wildlife, farm animals and exotics such as tigers, emus, primates and more, and the shelter houses around 200 dogs and cats.

Mouths to feed

Feeding and providing veterinary care for that many animals is not cheap, and the nonprofit shelter doesn’t have payday cash flowing in — it doesn’t get any government assistance.

Luckily, surrounding businesses are willing to pitch in with everything from grooming services to fresh produce.

Helping hands

APP.com gives some examples of the types of help businesses in the Popcorn Park Zoo community in Ocean County have contributed: ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Popcorn Park Zoo Gets Financial Help from Local Businesses"