That's good - you don't want people sitting on tickets.
Will you be releasing information about which areas of the park will be open tomorrow also? I wasn't sure where you would stand with areas like the walkthrough where the wombats are?
UK zoos & lockdown going forward...
- Thread starter TriUK
- Start date
That's good - you don't want people sitting on tickets.
Will you be releasing information about which areas of the park will be open tomorrow also? I wasn't sure where you would stand with areas like the walkthrough where the wombats are?
Gigit, you are so right. Likewise, after signing umpteen petitions, sharing posts and rallying my own family and friends to do the same, I feel deflated. I feel Simon Tongues frustration & understand how the government has ‘messed’ with the dates, but I can't help feeling that maybe BIAZA could have done more of what Chester eventually started on their own. I don't want to be negative and point fingers, but, the PZ statement was dour and left me very worried, especially for Living Coasts! Did PZ have some contingency plans for opening? The facebook page was inundated with members offering support and many saying they would pay full price to support.
As I’ve said in previous posts, never underestimate the strength of a good PR team. Simon Tonge has always struck me as someone who’s straight-up and knowledgeable. Fingers crossed for Paignton as I’ve many happy memories of the place, but someone seems to have dropped the ball when it comes to formatting their media campaigns.
Simon Tongue is excellent in so many ways & I respect him immensely. However, he is at the top & he must be willing to be reflective in my opinion. The zoo has a very high turnover of key staff & as you suggest, they do lag behind some smaller zoos when it comes to their relationship with the media. We must not forget how terribly unlucky they’ve been with their own TB crisis which decimated funds as well as moral. I’ve always admired Simon Tongue for his ability to highlight the Trusts conservation work. I desperately hope he can steer PZ & LC through this & I believe he can with some help from Torbay Council, Government & BIAZA. Gigit rightly points out that Paignton is an impoverished seaside town and Torbay Council are always struggling for funds. PZ however, is vital for local tourism and the Bay would be so much poorer economically & culturally without it. Maybe in the future, Chester & ZSL could share good practice & resources so in the event of another pandemic they can all work more closely together?
I agree with you on the bit in bold. I feel that, without Chester's extremely well presented campaign and the media interest in it, the good news that has followed wouldn't have happened. Feel free to correct me but I don't feel that BIAZA were especially pro-active before Chester Zoo started the ball rolling.
sooty mangabey
Well-Known Member
Yes, completely agree here. Paignton’s public pronouncements are oddly off key. They’re still moaning about the penalty, even after they’ve won the match, and that’s never a good look. The contrast with the more upbeat output from other zoos could not be more pronounced.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Yes we will, but I can tell you that we are being cautious. Indoor animal houses will be closed as per Government instructions and the walk-through too; play area too of course, and the Malayan Tiger 'tunnel'. Our domestic animal feeding and contact areas will be walk-past with no contact and no feeding. We plan to open the gift-shop on a one-group-in, one-group-out, basis, and have some basic catering on a take-away system.. A visit will be different to before, but that is the world we live in now. Changes will be phased in as we can, depending on the behaviour of the public and of course, Government instructions.
Initially our entry times have changed a little too, to 10.30am till 5pm - to allow animal staff a little more time to get round without coming into contact with the public.
Assuming the announcement is made this evening, we plan to open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week for members and season ticket holders only, and then for general visitors from Thursday 18th.
Work on the new Bear enclosure is complete. We have the approach roads and stand-off fencing to finish, and the Bears will be on view for the summer holidays; plus lots of babies born whilst visitors have been away; so many positives, even if we have to wait a while for the indoor buildings to re-open.
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Thanks for the info Andrew - I hope all goes well for the opening next week and we will be looking forward to coming to see the new bear enclosure and all those babies.
I think that would be very useful. 'UK Zoos & re-opening'?
No, still a 5-mile limit.
This is an excellent idea, and perhaps one that should have been implemented early on in the crisis. A Round-Table approach going forward would work far better than pitting one against the other, for want of a better expression. However,I can’t see Damian Aspinall jumping on board with this, considering all zoos are an abomination so I imagine he thought all his Christmas’s were coming at once this week
ZSL have emailed members, stating they are opening on Monday, with the majority of pre-bookable slots reserved for members on Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th, as a thank you for their support.
London zoo will be one-way, but Whipsnade is big enough that this doesn't seem to be happening there.
London zoo will be one-way, but Whipsnade is big enough that this doesn't seem to be happening there.
As a comparison, the national museums were having round-table meetings in the run-up to lockdown, and are continuing meetings throughout to coordinate eventual reopening. I know museums are run differently to zoos, and the national museums have always had close relations with each other and DCMS as government bodies. Maybe in the long run, zoos/BIAZA could talk with the museum sector, to see how they have worked together through all this. In a way, the zoo and museum sectors aren't too dissimilar (government funding of the large national museums aside); both sectors contain charities, independent institutions, private enterprises etc, and both rely heavily on tourism/visitor income
It seems that , as was the situation in England until fairly recently , Welsh Zoos have never been legislated to close . Until the 5-mile advisory travel limit is changed there is no prospect of them being able to even consider opening again though . As well as travel restrictions , there have as yet been no change from only essential shops being open , as well as Gardens , National Trust properties , Dental services and Place of Worship all still being shut .
Gigit
Well-Known Member
Paignton has made another FB announcement today:
Following our announcement yesterday, we are extremely grateful for all your kind words and further donations to our fundraising page - we THANK YOU so much for your ongoing support.
We still have a long way to go, but we are really looking forward to being able to welcome guests and members back to the zoo when we can safely do so - hopefully in early July!
We will continue to share information regarding our re-opening plans as soon as possible. Please keep an eye on our website and social media channels for the latest updates.
People are commenting that it is a more positive message.
Following our announcement yesterday, we are extremely grateful for all your kind words and further donations to our fundraising page - we THANK YOU so much for your ongoing support.
We still have a long way to go, but we are really looking forward to being able to welcome guests and members back to the zoo when we can safely do so - hopefully in early July!
We will continue to share information regarding our re-opening plans as soon as possible. Please keep an eye on our website and social media channels for the latest updates.
People are commenting that it is a more positive message.