Long-term effects of COVID-19 economic downturn on zoos

I think zoos will be able to be open rather soon. I know some doctors predicted we will be in this lock-down for four more years (!), but that simply isn't possible. Unemployment rates are soaring, businesses are closing, society can't keep this up much longer. Sooner or later (and I predict sooner) everything will have to open up, regardless of how the virus is. Lucky for us, the virus numbers have been going down recently anyway, so it might not even come to that.

However, as for zoos themselves, it's very hard for me to be optimistic. My greatest fear from this pandemic is that it will stay in cultures everywhere. People will stay 6 feet apart, working from home, wearing masks all the time, ect. I'm worried about places like zoos, that will have lots of people in one place. In the future people may simply not be interested in going to places like that anymore. I'm also worried for buffets.
 
Last edited:
birdsandbats said:
Lucky for us, the virus numbers have been going down recently anyway, so it might not even come to that..
Click to expand...
Did you read @CGSwans post? If you open the country back up it doesn’t matter that cases have gone down, they’ll burst back up when people start frequenting public spaces in huge numbers.

But I agree that fairly soon things are going to open up, at least in the US. In Canada I’m not sure how long the lockdown will go, but most people have been doing a good job of self-isolating so hopefully we can eventually get back to normal (although not by June!).
 
birdsandbats said:
I'm worried about places like zoos, that will have lots of people in one place. In the future people may simply not be interested in going to places like that anymore. I'm also worried for buffets.
Click to expand...

I think you need to be more worried (medium term at least), for everywhere else people cannot social distance. The list is enormous, pretty much everywhere people spend their leisure time - sports clubs, sports grounds, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants, fairs, music festivals, auctions, flea-markets, concerts, theaters, cinemas, children's play barns, public transport, busses, trains, aeroplanes, practically every leisure venue save zoos, farms and national parks where if people can be trusted they will be able to social distance, as they did here in the run up to the lock-down.

As I said before -Governments will need (small to medium) zoos - there will be nothing else for people to do!
 
birdsandbats said:
I think zoos will be able to be open rather soon. I know some doctors predicted we will be in this lock-down for four more years (!), but that simply isn't possible. Unemployment rates are soaring, businesses are closing, society can't keep this up much longer. Sooner or later (and I predict sooner) everything will have to open up, regardless of how the virus is. Lucky for us, the virus numbers have been going down recently anyway, so it might not even come to that.
.
Click to expand...

You’re still not understanding. Not only is @TZDugong right with their response, but you are making the further error of imagining that it’s even possible to get things moving again while the virus is active and uncontrolled. Governments might try for a short period, but it won’t and can’t work: the more people go out, the more people will die, which will only scare people back into their homes even *if* the authorities are determined to throw caution to the wind.

You cannot fix the economy without containing the virus first. We are a very long time away from being able to go back to normal.
 
I think an issue with this kind of discussion (apart from the fact that even those with all the data would struggle to really predict what will happen with a novel virus, let alone those of us dependent on what reaches the media) is that we all have slightly different things in mind when we say 'normal'. I would feel much more 'normal' if I were able to drive for an hour or two to do something outside, particularly if it were animally - going to the zoo, or birding. When the pubs reopen, even if they have severe capacity limits, I will probably feel pretty much back to 'normal' in day to day terms, even if things like mass events or even 50+ gatherings are still months away from feasible, because the things I do every week or so will be back in place.

Cinemas, theatres, airports, overseas travel - all things I do go to, but much more rarely - so they don't have the same tie to 'normality' - bluntly, to me, they are easier to live without for a time without me feeling disrupted (though a whole calendar year with no foreign travel will/would be a distinct rarity for me!). To other people, not so much - particularly if they work in those areas.

I do think that zoos have a strong case for being one of first places to re-open once things start to renormalise, though, for the reasons @Andrew Swales has given. Hopefully this will be the case.

I do also think that lockdowns will be lifted somewhat before the health professionals would ideally like them in terms of pure virus control - mostly because the social and economic pressure will only increase on politicians, but partly because they will be aware that other health issues are being exacerbated by the lockdown either directly, or by people avoiding seeking treatment (note that the NHS in the UK specifically had to release a statement confirming people should still seek treatment for any urgent medical needs, because people were putting it off). It will be done very, very gradually, if they've any sense. But I suspect, rightly or wrongly, that the UK government at least will mostly have an eye on the NHS having capacity for the active case load, rather than completely suppressing the virus at all costs.

At the end of the day though, the UK is running a little behind other European countries, so if the government are smart enough to be paying attention to other countries' experiences by now, they should have some idea of what works and when. It will be very interesting to watch those countries starting to ease things this week to see what happens.
 
birdsandbats said:
Sooner or later (and I predict sooner) everything will have to open up, regardless of how the virus is. Lucky for us, the virus numbers have been going down recently anyway, so it might not even come to that.
Click to expand...

An attitude almost as blase and dangerous as the claims from various quarters that, for instance:

  • It was all a load of hot air and media hype and people were just being hysterical
  • That we should just "take it on the chin" and get it all over with.
  • That it was all a hoax to bring down Trump
  • etc etc

These being the kinds of attitudes which got us into the position we are now in..... :rolleyes:
 
Yes, when I say ‘normal’ I essentially mean that we have the ability to do all the things we *could* do back in February. There are of course going to be intermediate steps along the way to ‘normal’, and I am optimistic that zoos will open up before many indoor venues, do (public aquaria are going to take a lot longer, alas).

But without a robust testing and tracing regime that can reliably identify all clusters of cases before they become new outbreaks, any loosening of restrictions are doomed to failure. That’s why I think America is, to put it bluntly, ****ed. They *still* don’t have anything like the testing program that more successful countries like Germany, South Korea and Australia have, and there’s good reasons to fear they will never close the gap. Without knowing how many cases they have and where, they will not be able to sustain opening things up.
 
CGSwans said:
But without a robust testing and tracing regime that can reliably identify all clusters of cases before they become new outbreaks, any loosening of restrictions are doomed to failure. That’s why I think America is, to put it bluntly, ****ed. They *still* don’t have anything like the testing program that more successful countries like Germany, South Korea and Australia have, and there’s good reasons to fear they will never close the gap. Without knowing how many cases they have and where, they will not be able to sustain opening things up.
Click to expand...

Yes, sadly I think it's been clear for a long time that the US is heading to be the worst-affected 'rich' country, both medically and economically.

We're well behind on testing in the UK, but with a single organisation in charge of delivering it and what appears to be a definite political will, there is at least a visible pathway to us getting there before too long. And until the day a vaccine is ready for mass usage, I think testing and tracing is basically all we've got other than all sitting in our boxes.
 
Andrew Swales said:
I think you need to be more worried (medium term at least), for everywhere else people cannot social distance. The list is enormous, pretty much everywhere people spend their leisure time - sports clubs, sports grounds, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants, fairs, music festivals, auctions, flea-markets, concerts, theaters, cinemas, children's play barns, public transport, busses, trains, aeroplanes, practically every leisure venue save zoos, farms and national parks where if people can be trusted they will be able to social distance, as they did here in the run up to the lock-down.
Click to expand...

I agree with you but the irony (at least here in Sao Paulo , Brazil) is that National parks have been closed down along with some of the places you mention as being locations more likely to be hotspots of transmission such as malls / shopping centres , public transport hubs and bars / nightclubs. It has just become a blanket ban where all of these locations and movement of people have been lumped together as if they are somehow equally risky.

The result of this has been that important scientific research into the conservation of a number of endangered species (particularly primates and birds) has been stalled and disrupted because even conservation practitioners and researchers are unable to enter the parks to carry out this work.

I understand of course the rationale behind this move (and particularly with the unknowns about transmission of Covid to non-human primates) but I'm desperate to continue work / research and I hope that the government is both able to discriminate between actual scientific / conservation use of a natural area and mere recreation and that these restrictions are lifted at some point within the next few months.
 
Last edited:
Maguari said:
Yes, sadly I think it's been clear for a long time that the US is heading to be the worst-affected 'rich' country, both medically and economically.

We're well behind on testing in the UK, but with a single organisation in charge of delivering it and what appears to be a definite political will, there is at least a visible pathway to us getting there before too long. And until the day a vaccine is ready for mass usage, I think testing and tracing is basically all we've got other than all sitting in our boxes.
Click to expand...

The United States is well ahead of the UK in testing per capita though and has been expanding our capacity substantially in recent weeks. The link below shows that testing in the United States has been done at double the rate of the UK and is accelerating at a far greater pace. This is also with incomplete US data as due to no single organization handling testing numbers, some states and private labs are only reporting positive cases.

Also looking at deaths per capita the United Kingdom has more than double what the United States has as of now. Uk deaths per a million are at 167, while the United States has 69 deaths per million. Now I am not projecting how this will go in the future, but the United States has in recent weeks built a massive testing infrastructure, despite initial misdirection from the White House. As well our death rate is way lower than that of the most affected European nations, again we have some time to go. Yet daily deaths in the nation has been rather static the past few days, which is definitely a good sign.

To understand the global pandemic, we need global testing – the Our World in Data COVID-19 Testing dataset
Coronavirus Update (Live): 1,888,975 Cases and 117,586 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer
(Both these sites pull from John Hopkins, WHO and other credible organizations)
 
nczoofan said:
The United States is well ahead of the UK in testing per capita though and has been expanding our capacity substantially in recent weeks. The link below shows that testing in the United States has been done at double the rate of the UK and is accelerating at a far greater pace. This is also with incomplete US data as due to no single organization handling testing numbers, some states and private labs are only reporting positive cases.
Click to expand...

Comparing the US to a country that isn't doing a very good job either is not really fair.

nczoofan said:
Also looking at deaths per capita the United Kingdom has more than double what the United States has as of now. Uk deaths per a million are at 167, while the United States has 69 deaths per million. Now I am not projecting how this will go in the future, but the United States has in recent weeks built a massive testing infrastructure, despite initial misdirection from the White House. As well our death rate is way lower than that of the most affected European nations, again we have some time to go. Yet daily deaths in the nation has been rather static the past few days, which is definitely a good sign.
Click to expand...

The death rate is currently lower in the US because the US is several weeks behind most European countries when it comes to COVID development, as in, most European countries are behind the (first?) spike of cases, with fewer cases each day, the US doesn't see such a slowing down yet.
 
lintworm said:
Comparing the US to a country that isn't doing a very good job either is not really fair.



The death rate is currently lower in the US because the US is several weeks behind most European countries when it comes to COVID development, as in, most European countries are behind the (first?) spike of cases, with fewer cases each day, the US doesn't see such a slowing down yet.
Click to expand...

Yes, quite - and are all countries collating the figures in the same way?, and can we actually believe any of them? Does the US, for example, include deaths (as sadly described by Brum above, which have not been tested, showed no symptoms, and were actually from other long-standing medical conditions) as coronavirus deaths. The UK does.
 
I think aquariums might be harder hit than zoos. I agree with some others who say zoos will open before more enclosed venues such as movie theaters, bars/pubs, and probably even aquariums. I also agree with @Andrew Swales that there could be a way to safely open zoos by minimizing visitor numbers and maintaining social distancing. On my last visit to Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in March (which unbeknownst at the time would be their last day open) the member window had the barcode scanner for membership cards pointed out so members could hold their own card under the scanner. Previously the scanner was next to the attendant who would take your card and scan it. I could foresee tickets being done the same way and also see an increase in online ticket sales, with either print-at-home or mobile phone barcodes. Even before the virus this practice was starting to spread (just as it had already become the standard for airline tickets).

A few zoos (but not many that I have seen) have also implemented entry doors for their indoor exhibits that open automatically, the kind of sliding glass doors we have at supermarkets and larger retail stores in USA. Most zoos, however, still have conventional doors with a pull handle, but maybe this will cause more to retrofit their entrances with automatic doors? Of course zoos that do not have indoor buildings, like many zoos here in Arizona, have less of a concern.

One thing that may already be happening is increased cooperation among privately run facilities (I am talking specifically about USA, but perhaps elsewhere). I saw a short Facebook live post yesterday from Project Survival's Cat Haven in California (I am personal friends with the people who run it). They were meeting up at a small parking lot in central California with two coolers full of frozen meat to donate to Monterey Zoo to help them feed their animals. They commented that a lot of independent animal places are now coming together to help each other out. I also agree with what some have said that small places like this that have a strong support network might be able to get by on individual donations better than some large mainstream zoos and aquariums.
 
Seems we got a bit off topic speculating on when economies will re-open but to bring it back to topic, here is what I expect (not so very different from what @CGSwans posted earlier):

1. In 2020 zoos will have missed 30-40% of their revenue due to closures covering some of the most important months, reduced memberships, reduced purchases of food and souvenirs exacerbated by the huge number of people who are out of work. If they are publicly funded they will see their tax support reduced rather than supplemented.

2. In 2020 fund raising for new exhibits will lag due to the slowed economy, the crashed stock market and the philanthropic community's attention to medical, hospital, and educational institutions (it is what will be on everyone's mind) and perhaps political contributions

3. Zoos have cut budgets for 2020 and will cut 2021 which will result in lay-offs. Some employees will have died due to Covid19. Some that were furloughed will not return. There will be hiring freezes for more than 1 year. The hiring of seasonal employees - which should be underway - will be slowed and reduced.

4. As has already been said, mega-projects that were already in design will mostly go forward (depends on whether they were already fully funded). Mega-projects that were planned to kick off in 2020-2023 will be delayed or left to wither and die for lack of funding.

5. For the next several years we will see more small projects/exhibit improvements instead of mega-projects

6. If all else returns to pre-Covid19 times by 2021 then zoos will return to full operation/construction of new projects by 2023 or later
.
7. Some small zoos will close. While they can do with reduced staff they will have had to keep up mortgage payments, pay for animal feed and vet services, utilities, etc. with no income. Few have sufficient financial reserves.

8. There may be a new rash of Master Plans

My thoughts are based on what happened after 2008 as well as the unique situation we face today.
 
Last edited:
CGSwans said:
- some new developments that *are* partially or even fully-funded won’t go ahead either. This is a particular risk the longer the shutdown goes, and zoos burn through their cash reserves. I don’t doubt there’s already directors working through the accounting and legal ramifications of raiding capital works funding.
Click to expand...
In most cases capital funds are dedicated and cannot be moved to operations budgets. But zoos may conclude that if the new projects required additional staff then the projects will need to be evaluated.
 
Last edited:
I wonder if this will result in future planned projects showing a reduction in indoor exhibits and an increase in outdoor exhibits?
 
Zooplantman said:
ome employees will have died due to Covid19.
Click to expand...

This is a very strong assumption, zookeepers (at least here in CZE) are one of the most cautious and closely monitored groups.

Zooplantman said:
There will be hiring freezes for more than 1 year. The hiring of seasonal employees - which should be underway - will be slowed and reduced.
Click to expand...

Are hiring freezes better than keeping your staff unhappy because of understaffed shifts and thus potentially leading to more quitting? It might be the case for some small private zoos, but the bigger zoos will certainly not opt to it until they will absolutely have to...


Arizona Docent said:
I wonder if this will result in future planned projects showing a reduction in indoor exhibits and an increase in outdoor exhibits?
Click to expand...

I don't think so, maybe there will be some adjustments to make the spaces less tight, but architecture is still a fundamental part of the zoo, both in terms of the visitor experience and work effectivity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top