COVID-19 effects on zoos and animal conservation

Pretty bad news today.

My two local zoos, the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (KMDA in Dutch) zoos Antwerp and Planckendael are not doing well due to the corona crisis closure that has been in effect since March 14th and will last at least until June 8th. They are losing a lot of money as they have little revenue in a normally very busy period of the year. The animals are however still receiving good care and the gardeners are also still at work to not let the gardens get overgrown, but things like maintaining pathways and cleaning windows have been scrapped for now, and a lot of the staff have been furloughed.

The zoos are working out scenarios for a limited reopening that will hopefully allow social distancing measures to be followed. They hope for this reopening will be allowed to happen in June. Out of solidarity they are not asking for an earlier reopening.

However, as I have commented on earlier, it seems unlikely that the June reopening will be happening as the number of cases and deaths in Belgium is still going down way too slowly to allow any of the exit phases to happen at the dates given last week. So everything is likely to be postponed further, and I personally think the reopening won't be happening until at least July, if not August or even September. That is if a reopening will ever come, as it seems they might not make it that far.

A letter pleading members to support them has apparently been sent out. I have yet to receive it and judge its exact contents, but we will be renewing our membership and I will definitely consider a substantial donation if it comes to it.

Het gaat niet goed met de Antwerpse Zoo: dierentuin hoopt nu op heropening in juni

I was already afraid this would happen and it seems a lot of my worst fear are now beginning to materialize.

Thanks to all the selfish pieces of vermin who refused to follow the quarantine rules, and thanks to our failing government and our disgustingly weak judicial system that found it wise to not tighten the lock-down rules and to only punish quarantine infractions with a totally laughable 250 € fine (or even 750 or 4000 euros for businesses or organizers), rather than punishing the violators in a way one can actually take serious, this crisis is going to last even longer now. At this point sadly it seems highly likely to me that Belgium will forever lose two very nice collections, one in existence for over 175 years, with a very good track record of conservation, education and science. That just makes me so sad and upset.

I really don't want to despair for my beloved collections that I have visited for over 20 years and have enjoyed for more than two thirds of my life, and that have influenced so much of my life. I really want to be hopeful that they will survive this, but it is getting harder by the day to remain hopeful and optimistic for the future of zoos. I really want to keep my spirits up thinking about a better future with zoo visits, but I find it difficult to feel anything but depressed, gloomy and deeply pessimistic about a likely irreparably damaged and forever changed society, and what, if any, the place of zoos in it will be.
 
HOMIN96 said:
In what has been a bit chaotic turn of events, the timetable of easing restrictions in the Czech Republic, was sped up by two weeks. This effectively means that zoos are able to open on 27th April with indoor exhibits being open from 25th May.
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How did it go today?
 
Andrew Swales said:
How did it go today?
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The reports are generally positive, some zoos, wrote "thank you" messages on their social media that the visitors behaved well today. It seems like people are still very cautious and that pile-up some people feared didn't actually happen (Prague apparently got only around 1300 visitors today). The weekend will be the big test probably, we'll see how zoos handle that, but I will be very glad if the current trend continues, joined by slow and steady growth in visitor numbers.

There is still some chaos with the ticket purchasing systems, but zoos are working hard to fix it...
 
The Australian government has announced some funding to help zoos with operational costs.

Zoos to receive $95 million coronavirus lifeline from Federal Government - ABC News

Key points:
  • Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said it was crucial that zoos and aquariums survived the crisis to help the tourism industry recover once restrictions were lifted
  • More than 100 exhibiting zoos, wildlife parks and aquariums could apply for a share of $94.6 million to help pay for costs such as food, veterinary bills and power and water needed for animal enclosures
  • With many visitors coming from overseas, there are fears the industry could take years to recover

Note that most zoos will also qualify for the federal government's "JobKeeper" wage subsidy which sees businesses who have seen a significant downturn in turnover (a closed zoo would definitely qualify!), able to pay staff a basic wage of $1500 per fortnight (which is actually a payrise for many people!) to keep them employed (ie they aren't allowed to stand them down - the money has to be paid to employees).
 
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On positive note, the smallish zoo Zie-Zoo in the Netherlands has announced on the local news that they can keep going for over a year from now without any help, and that they never even entertained the thought of feeding the animals to each other. The director also said that if the zoo has to remain closed for over a year, he has faith that the government will be able to help them out (mainly reffering to feed provision).

The article and video are in Dutch for those interested:
Dtv Nieuws - Dierentuin Volkel: "We hoeven geen dieren aan elkaar te voeren"
 
This Friday Rodolphe Delord (president of AFdPZ) met with president Macron on the future of French parks. He proposed a reopening on June 2 arguing that if people can go out on the street they can come to the zoo ...

Everyone will make their opinion on it.
 
Good news...
Valentin said:
This Friday Rodolphe Delord (president of AFdPZ) met with president Macron on the future of French parks.
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That's incredible that a Government considers its zoos so important, to be speaking at that level.

In the UK I had a letter from our MP's secretary yesterday, saying that all our MP's attempts to ask questions of the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer over the last month had been ignored, but they would keep trying.
 
KevinB said:
Pretty bad news today.

My two local zoos, the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp (KMDA in Dutch) zoos Antwerp and Planckendael are not doing well due to the corona crisis closure that has been in effect since March 14th and will last at least until June 8th. They are losing a lot of money as they have little revenue in a normally very busy period of the year. The animals are however still receiving good care and the gardeners are also still at work to not let the gardens get overgrown, but things like maintaining pathways and cleaning windows have been scrapped for now, and a lot of the staff have been furloughed.

The zoos are working out scenarios for a limited reopening that will hopefully allow social distancing measures to be followed. They hope for this reopening will be allowed to happen in June. Out of solidarity they are not asking for an earlier reopening.

However, as I have commented on earlier, it seems unlikely that the June reopening will be happening as the number of cases and deaths in Belgium is still going down way too slowly to allow any of the exit phases to happen at the dates given last week. So everything is likely to be postponed further, and I personally think the reopening won't be happening until at least July, if not August or even September. That is if a reopening will ever come, as it seems they might not make it that far.

A letter pleading members to support them has apparently been sent out. I have yet to receive it and judge its exact contents, but we will be renewing our membership and I will definitely consider a substantial donation if it comes to it.

Het gaat niet goed met de Antwerpse Zoo: dierentuin hoopt nu op heropening in juni

I was already afraid this would happen and it seems a lot of my worst fear are now beginning to materialize.

Thanks to all the selfish pieces of vermin who refused to follow the quarantine rules, and thanks to our failing government and our disgustingly weak judicial system that found it wise to not tighten the lock-down rules and to only punish quarantine infractions with a totally laughable 250 € fine (or even 750 or 4000 euros for businesses or organizers), rather than punishing the violators in a way one can actually take serious, this crisis is going to last even longer now. At this point sadly it seems highly likely to me that Belgium will forever lose two very nice collections, one in existence for over 175 years, with a very good track record of conservation, education and science. That just makes me so sad and upset.

I really don't want to despair for my beloved collections that I have visited for over 20 years and have enjoyed for more than two thirds of my life, and that have influenced so much of my life. I really want to be hopeful that they will survive this, but it is getting harder by the day to remain hopeful and optimistic for the future of zoos. I really want to keep my spirits up thinking about a better future with zoo visits, but I find it difficult to feel anything but depressed, gloomy and deeply pessimistic about a likely irreparably damaged and forever changed society, and what, if any, the place of zoos in it will be.
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Today I received the letter I mentioned in my previous post. It is basically a lengthy plea to all members who have yet to renew their membership this year to do so soon, so they have a little bit of income. The letter also says that the zoo tries to maintain its dedication to animal welfare and conservation in these difficult times.

Also today there was an article in another newspaper. I won't link to it as it is for subscribed readers only, but this article was far longer than the only I linked earlier, and in my opinion a little less gloomy. The spokeswoman of the Antwerp and Planckendael zoos actually was actually quoted in the article saying that they aren't pessimistic and that some renovation projects are still continuing. Those were however relatively short comments in between a longer and more worrying talk about the financial difficulties due to the corona crisis and about their call for help from their members and fans.

Out of probably mistaken curiosity I took a little look at some of the comments posted under the news article I linked yesterday and on social media A majority of the comments are negative and disparaging comments on zoos, with all the usual arguments like zoos are prisons, zoos are animal abuse, animals should be in the wild, it is wrong to put animals on display for money and so on. Several people also said the closure is a good thing and that they hope zoos won't ever reopen and/or called for the animals to be released into their natural habitat or to be relocated to sanctuaries. There were also some attacks on people who visit and/or like zoos as being primitive and stupid.

This is all very discouraging. Another thing I have begun to see in some media outlets and on social media are comments and memes drawing comparisons between the current lockdown situation and the purported reality life for animals in zoological facilities. The basis argument is that zoo animals are under lockdown and cooped up for life without any reprieve, and are suffering because of that. Crap spread by the animal rights crowd and their naive acolytes.

Speaking about the animal rights crowd, lately they seem to have been focusing on wrongly connecting the coronavirus to meat consumption in general and to animal agriculture, but I fear they will start to target zoos again in the future. With zoos suffering severe financial loss from the Covid-19 crisis, which will be difficult to make up for as social distancing requirements and restricted visitor numbers are likely to remain in effect for a long time, and zoos likely to also suffer from the long-term economic effects of this crisis, it is likely their investments in animal welfare, renovations and exhibit improvement, conservation and scientific research will be limited for a long time.

The animal rights crowd could easily use that to attack zoos, arguing that their purported mission is not their true goal and commitment, and I think they probably will at some point. These extremists are not above attacking businesses and industries when they are weak or in trouble in a heartless attempt to take them down - and they likely will realize they have a new stick to beat the zoo industry with right now, unfortunately. They might also use the animal infections at the Bronx Zoo and of pets as an argument to call the safety of zoos and zoo animals into question. And with a substantial dislike of zoos already present in society, who knows what they could achieve.

The writing is definitely going to be on the wall for zoos in the coming years. I really hope that the current situation will not be the beginning of the final chapter in the history of zoos, but it will at the very least be the beginning of a very difficult one that will last for a long time.

Finally, with regards to developments elsewhere in Europe: the limited reopening of some zoos gives some hope. But at the same time we are seeing that where restrictions are being lifted (like in Germany) the number of cases and the reproduction rate of the virus rising again, suggesting that perhaps the lifting of restrictions has come to soon, or that the remaining measures of social distancing and hygiene are not being followed and/or enforced tightly enough.
 
Beastking04 said:
Due to lack of funding from the Covid-19 outbreak, Hogle has ended their contract with Sky Kings, Thus ending the run of the World of Flight show.

Security Check Required
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'Shows' along with keeper experiences and handling sessions will be some of the last zoo experiences to come back on stream, if they ever do in the same format. In addition, UK law forces us to offer educational services and local conservation work, both of which lose money, have to be funded from other zoo activity, cost us viability and compromise our financial resilience. It will be interesting to see if these requirements survive Covid, when the Government might need to fund them instead.




{Note from mods - discussion tangent moved here: Conservation vs Education vs Entertainment}
 
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Rather evocative headline on our ABC News website here in Australia overnight:

Indonesian zoos facing financial strain could 'feed herbivores to the carnivores' amid pandemic

Orangutans among thousands of animals at risk of starvation in Indonesian zoos under coronavirus lockdown, officials warn - ABC News

Some 70,000 animals across Indonesia are at risk of starvation as zoos struggle financially due to social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

A survey released by the Indonesian Zoo Association concluded that 92 per cent of its member zoos on the islands of Java, Bali, Sumatra, Lombok and Borneo had only enough supplies to feed their animals until mid-May.

Some 60 animal parks across the archipelago attract around 50 million visitors each year but, with most of them closed since mid-March, the body warned that thousands of animals are at risk, including endangered Sumatran tigers and Bornean orangutans.

...

"If a few more months pass and we don't get any aid from the Government or other international organisations, then with a heavy heart we'll have to feed herbivores … to the carnivores," Mr Syafi'i told AFP.

... read more​

Basically, they are saying that they will do whatever it takes to save their wildlife endemic to Indonesia because that is arguably the main focus of their conservation efforts. If that means sacrificing other non-endemic species to help ensure the endemic species survive, then that is what they are prepared to do, if it comes to it.

There is also concern that orangutans are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 due to genetic similarities making great apes susceptible to respiratory diseases found in humans.
 
Worrying primate conservation implications in this update from a paper which suggests that apes and African and Asian monkeys , as well as some lemurs are likely to be highly susceptible to COVID-19.

Comparative ACE2 variation and primate COVID-19 risk

Luckily, the virus doesn't seem (at least at the moment) to represent such a threat for all primates. New world monkeys , lorises , tarsiers and most lemur species are suggested to be probably (hopefully significantly) less susceptible to infection.
 
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In an article about Wildlands Zoo it was mentioned that the Dutch Zoo Organisation (NVD), which represents the 13 largest Dutch zoos has asked the relevant ministry for a compensation of 110 million euros (roughly half of their total annual revenue). The expect to lose slightly more than that, but think that this would represent a fair compensation in line with what other sectors demand, given the risks of entrepeneurship.
 
On Friday, I did my first "post-COVID" zoo visit. The choice was obvious - Brno, as I live roughly 20 minutes by car from there.

As it was previously stated, you can buy tickets only through e-shop, but as the turnstiles in Brno are not QR Code friendly, you need to actually show the code to cashier, she scans it and then gives you the ticket that lets you through the turnstile. Entrance is also one massive clutch point where social distancing just can't be done. Throughout my visit, people acted mostly accordingly to social distancing measures, with the exceptions being lines in front of food stands and some popular animal exhibits. Not all but a big majority of food stands had bottles of disinfection prepared for the visitors' use. Bottles were also present in all bathrooms and at the cash desk. I saw only 1 person not wearing face mask at all, but the general feeling here now is that people only wear them when absolutely needed, i. e. being in a place with high density of people. Climbing the steep slopes of Brno with a face mask is quite the experience, 10/10 would recommend. Luckily I and my family managed to avoid some of the big pile-ups, so I could at least some parts of the zoo climb while breathing freely.

In terms of that 150 persons per hectare per day rule, now it looks like the rule is very generous, as there is no way that this limit is reached (at least in the bigger zoos). Partly it's probably because of the weather (it was perfect for a zoo visit if you ask me, but not perfect in terms of the general public), but there is still the cautious approach, that makes people spend their time somewhere, where they don't meet a lot of people.
 
HOMIN96 said:
On Friday, I did my first "post-COVID" zoo visit. The choice was obvious - Brno, as I live roughly 20 minutes by car from there.

As it was previously stated, you can buy tickets only through e-shop, but as the turnstiles in Brno are not QR Code friendly, you need to actually show the code to cashier, she scans it and then gives you the ticket that lets you through the turnstile. Entrance is also one massive clutch point where social distancing just can't be done. Throughout my visit, people acted mostly accordingly to social distancing measures, with the exceptions being lines in front of food stands and some popular animal exhibits. Not all but a big majority of food stands had bottles of disinfection prepared for the visitors' use. Bottles were also present in all bathrooms and at the cash desk. I saw only 1 person not wearing face mask at all, but the general feeling here now is that people only wear them when absolutely needed, i. e. being in a place with high density of people. Climbing the steep slopes of Brno with a face mask is quite the experience, 10/10 would recommend. Luckily I and my family managed to avoid some of the big pile-ups, so I could at least some parts of the zoo climb while breathing freely.

In terms of that 150 persons per hectare per day rule, now it looks like the rule is very generous, as there is no way that this limit is reached (at least in the bigger zoos). Partly it's probably because of the weather (it was perfect for a zoo visit if you ask me, but not perfect in terms of the general public), but there is still the cautious approach, that makes people spend their time somewhere, where they don't meet a lot of people.
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Good to hear you had a great (if surreal) time
 
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TeaLovingDave said:
There's been at least one in the UK - Amazonia, up in Scotland.
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Gonna keep posting this on all the threads for accuracy - their parent company is in administration - being in administration is not permanent closure (trying to find a possible buyer is part of the administration process). Permanent closure may well follow, but administration is not, in itself, permanent closure.
 
Despite claiming not to need any help and being one of the richest zoos, Pairi Daiza has layed-off 23 employees (17 of which had a permanent contract). They are expecting 30 million euros less revenue this year (from a total of 71 million last year).

In the Netherlands there is some confusion over whether zoos can open or not. The national government has laid out a plan for gradually re-opening certain sectors and first of June the museums can open again (with tight visitor restrictions). But zoos were not mentioned at all. In a tweet by the national health institute (RIVM) they said that zoos / themeparks were never forced to close by the government, so there is no reason they could not be open if they don't follow the proper distancing/hygiene restrictions. It may be true that some zoos closed "voluntarily", but others were ordered to close by regional governmental bodies: the local security councils. Additionally there is no way zoos could remain open when the government advice was to stay home as much as possible (note: there are practically no enforcible travel restrictions within the country (with a few exceptions), people are trusted to stay at home). What makes it extra confusing is that zoos and theme parks have lobbied to the relevant ministries to be able to open up again with new restrictions over the past weeks, but apparently that wasn't necessary. So there is a lot of confusion currently, but it seems likely that zoos will be able to open again soon, but the final decision rests with the local security council.
 
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