JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – It’s no secret that the Jackson Zoo hasn’t been profitable for the capital city, but zoo leaders hope upcoming changes will help.

Abram Muhammad, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Jackson, said the zoo is unable to accept electronic forms of payment. He said this issue is partially to blame for the facility’s lack of profitability.

“In the month of May, we had to turn away 423 potential patrons simply because we did not have electronic payments in place. That equates to $5,000 to $7,300 of revenue we missed out on just that month alone. And the reason of the difference between the pay is because of the costs of a child or the accompanying parents. That’s just to give you an example of what we missed out in May. In the month of June, we missed out on a potential 6,800. And in the month of July, we missed out on a potential 11,000 just by not having electronic payment in place,” explained Muhammad.

He said the zoo is on pace to accept electronic payments by the end of August 2024.