Bleak winter ahead for zoos as lockdown means lost income
Midland zoo attractions are once again closing their gates to visitors and left counting the cost as the country goes returns to lockdown.
The hugely popular Chester Zoo is among the most visited in the region, but along with Dudley Zoo and others it will be shutting for four weeks from tomorrow.
Zoos and other animal attractions will close along with dozens of other local tourist haunts, after the Government announced a second national lockdown.
Chester Zoo had already been making preparations in case of a fresh closure and announced in the summer that the zoo was not out of the woods in terms of finances.
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In a statement, bosses said: "Following the Government’s latest instruction for a nationwide lockdown, we’re sad to say we’ll once again close our gates to visitors from 4pm on Wednesday - until December 2.
"We know a second lockdown will help to slow down the spread of this terrible virus and we, of course, want to do our bit and help in any way we can. But we can't deny that this news presents us with yet more challenges.With no tailored funding from the government and having had no access to £100m Zoo Animals Fund due its highly restrictive criteria, it’s again a worrying time for us, especially after the lengths we went to to make our charity zoo such a safe space.
"The last lockdown left us with a financial hole of £5.5 million - a terrible blow for our wonderful charity and the crucial conservation work we do.But, we’ve been here before; we got through it once and, with our incredible members and supporters by our side, we’ll get through it again.
Expecting
"Chester Zoo has always been a place of happiness. A place where families connect with the natural world; a place where young and old are inspired to make a difference to our planet; a place that's home to 35,000 incredible animals; a place of joy. Let's all hold onto that as, one day soon, we'll all feel that joy once more.
Due to Covid-19 regulations the site can only accommodate 3,000 visitors per day. Prior to the pandemic up to 12,000 visitors were allowed on site.
Meanwhile, Dudley Zoo will lose out on £170,000 in vital income during the November lockdown – a heavy blow for the popular attraction.
Zoo director Derek Grove said: "It's hardly a surprise to be honest. It's something we've been expecting for the last few weeks, a lockdown. It's the time of year where we tend to be quieter, so we won't have as deep a financial impact closing in November as we did over Easter and summer, where we relied on visitors. But it will still have an impact.
"If we can help slow the spread of Covid then we will do. We will just have no income coming in so it will mean more losses for the zoo. If it's just for November, we can live with it. But the frustrating thing last lockdown was seeing other businesses – which we deemed higher risk – reopen before us. We're open air, and it's very easy for people to just walk round. You can meet less people than in your local park.
"So the issue is if we aren't able to open as soon as December comes."
Hoo Farm Animal Kingdom near Telford will also close for four weeks from tomorrow.
Will Dorrell, of the Preston upon the Weald Moors attraction, said: "At the end of the day we are happy to do what needs to be done to get through the pandemic. We'd rather close now than in the spring half-terms. We had a pretty good summer which we had to have because we had no Easter. We have benefitted massively from being an outdoor attraction."
