Borough Park, NY – Brooklyn’s Torah Animal World may be closing its animal building due to financial hardship, but two buildings will remain open.
In a video interview with VIN News, Rabbi Shaul Shimon Deutsch, owner of the museum, said one of the buildings will be sold but two buildings will remain open to house some of the animal collection. The animals will be consolidated among the two remaining open buildings and the Catskill location. Tours of the remaining animals will continue in the other two open buildings.
Deutsch says the hardest item to import and transport was the elephant due to its size. He also stated the birds and the kangaroo were difficult to acquire, as they needed special approval. Only endangered animals needed special permits.
Sponsors have dwindled over the years leaving the museum in financial distress, forcing Deutsch to sell one of the buildings.
The educational institution receives about 35,000 visitors per year from schools, families and tourists.