UK zoos & lockdown going forward...
- Thread starter TriUK
- Start date
What are you expecting/ wanting the BBC to do?
The story was covered on the lunchtime regional news, though not very clearly.
To give this issue nation-wide (and slightly international) coverage available to the general public?
taun
Well-Known Member
Sure it will be more clearly covered tomorrow on the breakfast show when they are live from the zoo.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
They could even publish comments like these, about English zoos rather than just foreign ones - maybe..?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Where did you find those quotes?
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
On a web-site called 'ZooChat'
Just scroll up this very thread to my post on page 10...
(which you replied to)
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So, as I pointed out upthread, a story filed by the BBC's Brussels correspondent so hardly surprising that it didn't refer to the UK
More significantly, over on Twitter Edward Timpson MP has posted a video on the subject of Chester's position, jointly with other local (Tory) MPs and Chester Conservative councillors. It doesn't look like something rustled up in two minutes. And given that Timpson (who I have met and have a high opinion of, despite not sharing his politics) is a former Minister this may carry some weight.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Obviously, and I never suggested it should. I used it as an example of the support the BBC was giving to foreign zoos, and hoped they may eventually do the same for the UK.
Good - and better late than never, as they have had rather longer than two minutes to come up with it...
Whilst I'm delighted to see how much response the emotional statement from Chester Zoo has had, I'm frustrated by how many petitions asking for zoos (or just Chester, in some cases) to be allowed to open, have popped up. Whilst its a great cause surely setting up multiple petitions trying to achieve the same thing is just diluting the impact? Did BIAZA set up something like this - and if not, why not?
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
It will be interesting to see if the result of this is that Chester is added to the select group of Wildfowl Trusts as zoos allowed to open, whilst the rest have to stay closed.
If anyone can answer the question about BIAZA'S petition, then could they also explain their position on the re-opening of some of their members whilst the rest of us are forced to stay closed. Their web-site does not appear to have been changed.
The way this is going, anything could happen...
That had certainly crossed my mind... if it did happen, I'd be both happy and annoyed - happy that one of my favourite zoos was able to open, but annoyed for those that couldn't. Overall though, I feel that once something that is so very obviously a zoo was given the green light to re-open, others would surely follow, be it because of simple common sense, or because of the backlash to such a decision. I certainly think that its good that one of our most famous zoos is now in the spotlight - something that few could probably have managed to this extent - and I just hope it ultimately benefits all.
And also on Sky, which also mentions ZSL.
Read the full statement on Chester’s website this morning. Never read anything like it in my life before, truly shocking!
And evidence of an excellent PR department-I don’t recall the ZSL announcement a few weeks back getting nearly as much coverage!
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Can you give us a link. I've looked and can find nothing different, only the piece posted earlier on here.
The rest of us have been trying - but only local radio would help, so we've raised £155 since Tuesday, not £400,000
Good PR department, the petition at change.org has also been signed >35.000 times as we speak, within 24 hours of launching.
taun
Well-Known Member
It was £300,000 this morning when I check, the TV coverage obviously had a huge impact.