UK zoos & lockdown going forward...

An interesting piece (and angleo_O) from the BBC
A nice news feature supporting a zoo in Belgium, not the fate of the zoos in England...

Humans come in one-by-one as zoo returns to life

A quote from it:

But zoos were among the first tourist attractions to reopen in many countries, including Denmark and Germany. Now they are reopening in France, Italy, the Czech Republic and some Spanish regions too.

The sudden shutdown demonstrated the difficult economics of zoo-keeping - even for an institution like Pairi Daiza, which has benefited from huge investment and has twice been voted European Zoo of the Year.

and another one

Zoos are the only places of public entertainment allowed to start trading again, simply because they're mainly places of outdoor entertainment and scientists are confident that outdoors is less dangerous than indoors.

and another one, differentiating zoos from Theme Parks

Being allowed to reopen at reduced capacity is helpful to zoos but offers little comfort to the operators of theme parks. There's no economically viable way to apply social distancing rules to a rollercoaster.

ALL written by the BBC

Coverage of and support for a Belgian Zoo and the Belgian Government and Belgian scientists - but of course silence from the BBC about our Governments lack of support for UK Zoos, the total confusion - and then the opening of our competitors, in an attempt to drain us of support and funds even further..

This cannot be just incompetence...
 
Last edited:
Andrew Swales said:
Coverage of and support for a Belgian Zoo and the Belgian Government and Belgian scientists - but of course silence from the BBC about our Governments lack of support for UK Zoos, the total confusion - and then the opening of our competitors, in an attempt to drain us of support and funds even further..

This cannot be just incompetence...
Click to expand...

Oh I think it can be.
 
It's a really bizarre situation. I live near a beach and walked past it this morning. It looked like a normal summer's day with people sunning themselves on the sand, playing in the sea, using their beach huts, and queuing quite close together for the one pay-as-you-go toilet that the council has deigned to open. Meanwhile, up the hill, the 80 acres of Paignton Zoo are deserted and if/when it is re-opened it seems likely that we'll have to traipse round a regimented one-way route, sanitising ourselves as we go.
 
Andrew Swales said:
A neat, concise and simple question would be -
why is it legal to travel to and visit a ticketed botanical garden,
and illegal to travel to and visit a ticketed zoological garden ?
edit - I've just asked exactly this, using the link you listed, from my private email not the zoo one. I opted for the question to be read out to the Minister. The Cabinet Office will contact me within 3 days to tell me if it has been 'chosen' or not.
Click to expand...

It is four days now, and silence....
 
littleRedPanda said:
I

I'm sure the message was along the lines of, if you do not hear from us within three days, your question will not have been selected. You can resubmit it if you wish.
Click to expand...
Yes, you are quote right - I just submitted it again from a different email, and the wording was as you state.
 
Andrew Swales said:
It is four days now, and silence....
Click to expand...

I submitted a similar question for the record, but changed the wording a bit rather than doing a carbon copy... again, nothing!

Its often bugged me that overseas zoos get attention from the UK media when a lot of significant animal births in our own zoos go largely unnoticed by the general public.
 
littleRedPanda said:
Port Lympne advance tickets now start 15th June ... I can only guess that this is based on pure optimism, rather than knowledge.
Click to expand...

A more cynical person might suggest that they're giving a date with no realistic prospects of opening then, in the hope that people will book tickets and boost their coffers now, and then agree to push back the date of their visit, possibly more than once. Somehow I doubt that they'll be putting any emphasis on the availability of refunds, just as another zoo cancelled an event and offered people to swap their ticket for a non-event day. Good financial strategy it might be, but I'm not comfortable with it personally, especially when refunds are not offered (although presumably if you ask for one they would have to give it).
 
Is there some kind of bizarre motive between not re-opening zoos like other European countries, the media not covering our own zoos, and the government not responding to people?? It's all really strange to me at least!
 
Gigit said:
It's a really bizarre situation. I live near a beach and walked past it this morning. It looked like a normal summer's day with people sunning themselves on the sand, playing in the sea, using their beach huts, and queuing quite close together for the one pay-as-you-go toilet that the council has deigned to open. Meanwhile, up the hill, the 80 acres of Paignton Zoo are deserted and if/when it is re-opened it seems likely that we'll have to traipse round a regimented one-way route, sanitising ourselves as we go.
Click to expand...
I’m frustrated by this beyond belief! I’m feeling angry actually - it’s a messed up-upside-down situation!!
 
Mattaki said:
Is there some kind of bizarre motive between not re-opening zoos like other European countries, the media not covering our own zoos, and the government not responding to people?? It's all really strange to me at least!
Click to expand...
It does begin to look orchestrated... financial starvation, combined with subtly tainting the image of Zoos.
Starving Zoos of funds by allowing their direct competitors to open, and take their trade/visitors - is massive financial victimisation.
Keeping collections of wild animals closed when collections of domestic animals are allowed to open, puts out the message to the public that there is something intrinsically unsafe about Zoos (just UK Zoos of course, as the BBC says) so best stick to farms, parks and gardens instead - not just now, but into the future.
 
Last edited:
Andrew Swales said:
It does begin to look orchestrated... financial starvation, combined with subtly tainting the image of Zoos.
Starving Zoos of funds by allowing their direct competitors to open, and take their trade/visitors - is massive financial victimisation.
Keeping collections of wild animals closed when collections of domestic animals are allowed to open, puts out the message to the public that there is something intrinsically unsafe about Zoos (just UK Zoos of course, as the BBC says) so best stick to farms, parks and gardens instead - not just now, but into the future.
Click to expand...

In fact, of course, farm parks are much more dangerous (E Coli) than a zoo visit.

Still think it's cock-up, not conspiracy.
 
SHAVINGTONZOO said:
In fact, of course, farm parks are much more dangerous (E Coli) than a zoo visit.

Still think it's cock-up, not conspiracy.
Click to expand...

It would be better for all of us if you are right... but a cock-up could have so easily been corrected by a tweak (or contradiction) over the following days, just like they did on the 'ticketed attractions' and other errors -
But - they have chosen NOT to tweak/correct/update this one, if it is actually a mistake/cock-up - which does make one wonder.
Same end result, though.
 
Andrew Swales said:
An interesting piece (and angleo_O) from the BBC
A nice news feature supporting a zoo in Belgium, not the fate of the zoos in England...

Humans come in one-by-one as zoo returns to life

A quote from it:

But zoos were among the first tourist attractions to reopen in many countries, including Denmark and Germany. Now they are reopening in France, Italy, the Czech Republic and some Spanish regions too.

The sudden shutdown demonstrated the difficult economics of zoo-keeping - even for an institution like Pairi Daiza, which has benefited from huge investment and has twice been voted European Zoo of the Year.

and another one

Zoos are the only places of public entertainment allowed to start trading again, simply because they're mainly places of outdoor entertainment and scientists are confident that outdoors is less dangerous than indoors.

and another one, differentiating zoos from Theme Parks

Being allowed to reopen at reduced capacity is helpful to zoos but offers little comfort to the operators of theme parks. There's no economically viable way to apply social distancing rules to a rollercoaster.

ALL written by the BBC

Coverage of and support for a Belgian Zoo and the Belgian Government and Belgian scientists - but of course silence from the BBC about our Governments lack of support for UK Zoos, the total confusion - and then the opening of our competitors, in an attempt to drain us of support and funds even further..

This cannot be just incompetence...
Click to expand...

I can only try to imagine the stress you are under, but do you really in your heart of hearts believe that the UK government (and perhaps the BBC?) are plotting to shut zoos down?

They have quite clearly utterly failed the sector, but incompetence and distraction (there is, after all, a health emergency going on) explains that better than a conspiracy, one suspects.
 
Andrew Swales said:
It would be better for all of us if you are right... but a cock-up could have so easily been corrected by a tweak (or contradiction) over the following days, just like they did on the 'ticketed attractions' and other errors -
But - they have chosen NOT to tweak/correct/update this one, if it is actually a mistake/cock-up - which does make one wonder.
Same end result, though.
Click to expand...
on the other hand, look at the many government cockups that have never been unbuggered.
 
Wild Zoological Park seem to be planning on opening tomorrow for small groups doing experiences, then 15th June as a non essential business...
 
migdog said:
Wild Zoological Park seem to be planning on opening tomorrow for small groups doing experiences, then 15th June as a non essential business...
Click to expand...
Illegal - according to BIAZA and BALPPA who say that the Government has told them that Zoos are not allowed to open until 4th July - so we'll watch with interest, from behind the parapet...
Can you post some sort of link to the info, perhaps..?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top