UK zoos & lockdown going forward...

migdog said:
WILD Zoological Park
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Much obliged migdog.
I read that as contradictory, with several caveats. They appear to be linking to the 6 people in your own garden category introduced on 1st June for invited groups, and then the non-essential business category on 15th. It may be of course that they have managed to get a reply from Government where others have failed; but our advice is that neither of these changes and dates have any relevance for Zoos which remain closed until 4th July. Eventually one of these false starts will of course be the opening of the flood-gates...

EDIT - it was contradictory...!!

at 4.33pm Sunday 31st May, we have just received a second email from DEFRA, the first since the one confirming that zoos did not have to close in the first place.

A new update comes into force at one minute past midnight, tomorrow morning
This one expressly says that Zoos are to remain closed.
 
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CGSwans said:
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.
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Incompetence is the likelier option, this is true - but the anti-zoo lobby does have a lot of sway in the upper echelons of government, from what I have heard on the grapevine..... so I wouldn't be surprised if there's a vague mindset of "no great loss, we don't care if zoos close down" in the halls of power if/when the issue occurs to them, even if active conspiracy is unlikely.

Andrew Swales said:
Eventually one of these false starts will of course be the opening of the flood-gates...
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There is, of course, a good chance that it will come down to who blinks first - a zoo opening and citing the regulations that Wild seem to be using as justification, or the government having to explain why precisely those regulations don't apply to zoos when they do for attractions such as gardens etc and risking the (further) appearance of hypocrisy by shutting the zoo in question down.
 
Good luck to Wild, they will either set the benchmark or get publicity and hopefully highlight the current hypocrisy if they are told to close again.
I have to say though this isn't the kind of zoo I expected to be open first!
 
TeaLovingDave said:
There is, of course, a good chance that it will come down to who blinks first - a zoo opening and citing the regulations that Wild seem to be using as justification, or the government having to explain why precisely those regulations don't apply to zoos when they do for attractions such as gardens etc and risking the (further) appearance of hypocrisy by shutting the zoo in question down.
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pipaluk said:
Good luck to Wild, they will either set the benchmark or get publicity and hopefully highlight the current hypocrisy if they are told to close again.
I have to say though this isn't the kind of zoo I expected to be open first!
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Please read what I said above - I cant copy the details as the Sunday 4.33pm email from DEFRA was confidential and addressed to 'Zoo owners and operators only'.

It said - and I repeat - that regardless of what might have been written elsewhere, and what might be in the public update due tomorrow morning, that Zoos had now been expressly mentioned and they were now specifically forbidden from opening.

It s not a matter of opinion now, be it BIAZA, BALPPA or Wild...
 
Andrew Swales said:
Please read what I said above - I cant copy the details as the Sunday 4.33pm email from DEFRA was confidential and addressed to 'Zoo owners and operators only'.

It said - and I repeat - that regardless of what might have been written elsewhere, and what might be in the public update due tomorrow morning, that Zoos had now been expressly mentioned and they were now specifically forbidden from opening.

It s not a matter of opinion now, be it BIAZA, BALPPA or Wild...
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Check Exmoor Zoos Facebook post of about an hour ago, it’s all there! I’m so sorry!
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Incompetence is the likelier option, this is true - but the anti-zoo lobby does have a lot of sway in the upper echelons of government, from what I have heard on the grapevine..... so I wouldn't be surprised if there's a vague mindset of "no great loss, we don't care if zoos close down" in the halls of power if/when the issue occurs to them, even if active conspiracy is unlikely.

.
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I would normally be in the cock up camp rather than the conspiracy one, and I tend to that here, too. Except that I can’t help wondering about Zach Goldsmith. Minister for Animal Welfare. Until August 2019, a trustee of the Aspinall Foundation. I could be putting two and two together here and getting thirty-six. I probably am. But the thought does keep nagging away at me...
 
Andrew Swales said:
Please read what I said above - I cant copy the details as the Sunday 4.33pm email from DEFRA was confidential and addressed to 'Zoo owners and operators only'.

It said - and I repeat - that regardless of what might have been written elsewhere, and what might be in the public update due tomorrow morning, that Zoos had now been expressly mentioned and they were now specifically forbidden from opening.
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Indeed - you edited your post whilst I was still writing the above!

It's very infuriating all round, and makes the double-standard even worse.
 
Andrew Swales said:
Far, far more, can be 'lumped together' with estates, parks, gardens and farm-parks all of which have been allowed to open.
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Looks like farm parks- presumably that is what 'farm attractions' refers to in this DEFRA instruction- are now not allowed to open before then either...
 
Pertinax said:
Looks like farm parks- presumably that is what 'farm attractions' refers to in this DEFRA instruction- are now not allowed to open before then either...
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I haven't seen any mention of farm-parks in the DEFRA/GOV.UK stuff, but admittedly haven't looked closely. The reference I made to them re-opening next week was based on a local one and a major 'competitor' of ours for the mums-and-kids trade. The email received this evening was to 'Zoo owners and operators' and made no mention of farm-parks.
 
Full Exmoor statement here.

"If we were thinking of opening before July 4th then this has definitely put a stop to it, From BIAZA :-

We wanted to update you as we have just had an urgent meeting with Defra who have provided us with some new and unwelcome information. At midnight tonight a new Statutory Instrument (SI) will come into effect which puts several significant amendments in place to implement Step 2 of the UK Recovery Roadmap. We are sorry to report that this will include the addition of zoos, aquariums and safari parks and farm attractions on the list of businesses which must remain closed, alongside a significant range of other outdoor visitor attractions.

The decision to restrict more organisations and businesses is being taken at a point when restrictions on individuals are easing, in order to contain the increased virus transmission risks. The next review point will be June 18th for an implementation of July 4th."
 
Pertinax said:
From the BIAZA statement on Exmoor Zoo's FB page- 'zoos, aquariums, safari parks and farm attractions will now be added to the list of outdoor attractions that must remain closed' (not the exact quote).
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I've just quoted it above for easy reference, at the exact time you posted as well.
 
Brum said:
We are sorry to report that this will include the addition of zoos, aquariums and safari parks and farm attractions on the list of businesses which must remain closed, alongside a significant range of other outdoor visitor attractions.
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To me this suggests it's more to stop people travelling distances to visit, rather than targeting zoos. Still doesn't make much sense to me when beaches and shopping centres are apparently fair game, but I suspect that's the 'logic'. Here's hoping we can be back zooing soon - with a few adjustments it really shouldn't be a particularly high-risk activity (certainly less than shopping, surely!).
 
Pertinax said:
Maybe they will be closing again rapidly after this news...
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Quite! - I Googled all the local ones after posting the above, and West Lodge does appear to be going it alone...

Does anyone know the situation in Scotland? - as we had heard that a falconry centre has/had opened...
 
Interesting twist about Zach Goldsmith though and his association with Aspinall?
 
Anyone looking to read Exmoor's statement on Facebook directly can find it here:

Exmoor Zoo

I've read (although can't remember where), that some of the reason for keeping ticketed places closed was also for cleaning/sanitation purposes - beaches, parks etc. don't have the same level of high-hand-traffic surfaces as zoos/farms etc, which have stand-offs, fences, glass viewing etc., all of which would need careful cleaning, especially with children who are just prone to touching anything and everything. Beaches and parks, although not number restricted, don't have the same level of surfaces which could be transmission vectors. I'm not saying this is morally right or not, just something I've heard in passing. Places of worship also haven't been reopened, not even for private prayer, I would surmise for similar reasons of potential transmission surfaces.
 
Crowthorne said:
Anyone looking to read Exmoor's statement on Facebook directly can find it here:

Exmoor Zoo

I've read (although can't remember where), that some of the reason for keeping ticketed places closed was also for cleaning/sanitation purposes - beaches, parks etc. don't have the same level of high-hand-traffic surfaces as zoos/farms etc, which have stand-offs, fences, glass viewing etc., all of which would need careful cleaning, especially with children who are just prone to touching anything and everything. Beaches and parks, although not number restricted, don't have the same level of surfaces which could be transmission vectors. I'm not saying this is morally right or not, just something I've heard in passing. Places of worship also haven't been reopened, not even for private prayer, I would surmise for similar reasons of potential transmission surfaces.
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I guess there is some logic perhaps; but it still leaves our Governments approach at odds with most if not all other countries. As the BBC said, on the continent they chose to open zoos first, and there must be as many viewing windows, hand-rails and sticky children in a Belgian or Czech zoo as there are in an English one.

We have to accept of course that the UK has handled this differently all the way through, and we will have to help pay the price...
 
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