Borth Animalarium Private Zoo For Sale

Really wish I could even afford a partnership, but the only way I could afford this is if about 1,000 people went into it with me ;p. With that many people, I'm sure I'd have very little input and therefore there would be little point in me buying it :(. If I win the lottery anytime soon...
 
Aye, we can but dream. However, I do agree that a group of zoo-chatters that are a little better off should pull together and pool the money. I'd love to see a zoo ran by zoo-chatters, it just makes sense :D
 
Reading the nonsense that the majority of ZooChatters come out with I don't think a collection operated by a bunch of them would last very long at all.
 
Paradoxurus said:
Reading the nonsense that the majority of ZooChatters come out with I don't think a collection operated by a bunch of them would last very long at all.
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I would have thought that many ZooChatters would talk quite a bit of sense. After all, it is a specialist subject for many of us :)
 
Paradoxurus said:
Reading the nonsense that the majority of ZooChatters come out with I don't think a collection operated by a bunch of them would last very long at all.
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I agree with you totally on that Paradoxurus,it would be like a Horse designed by a committee.
 
Paradoxurus said:
Reading the nonsense that the majority of ZooChatters come out with I don't think a collection operated by a bunch of them would last very long at all.
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Not sure it's a majority, perhaps just a vocal minority, but I know what you mean. Most of us enthusiasts know our limitations, but I'm sure there's some that don't (empty vessels make most noise -with apologies to the handful of full vessels that make some noise).

I'm sure there's a small core of ZooChatters, yourself included, who might theoretically pull it off if funds were available (very hypothetical). However, paradoxically, I think anyone capable of operating a collection, would also realise that Borth is (financially) unviable for reasons I've outlined on related threads before.
 
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I think it could be done, but you would need the funds to really make it work. It is, at the moment, financially unviable, however if you had enough money to do it up after buying it then something could be made.

Personally, I would expand what there is and bring in a number of unique animals from overseas (kiwis, gerenuk etc) to attract hardcore zoo-goers, whilst adding one or two ABC's (orangs and rhino probably) to keep casual zoo-goers interested. With the surrounding areas having such small populations, you would need to invest ALOT to make it a unique experiance that people will be willing to travel to. That is in my opinion, I don't know about business etc.
 
Javan Rhino said:
I think it could be done, but you would need the funds to really make it work. It is, at the moment, financially unviable, however if you had enough money to do it up after buying it then something could be made.

Personally, I would expand what there is and bring in a number of unique animals from overseas (kiwis, gerenuk etc) to attract hardcore zoo-goers, whilst adding one or two ABC's (orangs and rhino probably) to keep casual zoo-goers interested. With the surrounding areas having such small populations, you would need to invest ALOT to make it a unique experiance that people will be willing to travel to. That is in my opinion, I don't know about business etc.
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Have you visited the place, its about 2 acres, less, you would be lucky to fit a rhino enclosure on the whole site nether mind rhinos with Orangs!
 
Javan Rhino said:
I think it could be done, but you would need the funds to really make it work. It is, at the moment, financially unviable, however if you had enough money to do it up after buying it then something could be made.

Personally, I would expand what there is and bring in a number of unique animals from overseas (kiwis, gerenuk etc) to attract hardcore zoo-goers, whilst adding one or two ABC's (orangs and rhino probably) to keep casual zoo-goers interested. With the surrounding areas having such small populations, you would need to invest ALOT to make it a unique experiance that people will be willing to travel to. That is in my opinion, I don't know about business etc.
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Still think Shorts is right no zoo will ever be kept going by ZOO NERDS just not enough of us about,to be able to make up the visitor numbers that the place would need on top of the fact its not got a very large population in the area and the transport links to the rail network and motorways are to far away to bring in the numbers to make this place much better than it all ready is.
 
Sorry Javan Rhino I'm not being patronising but that's not how the world works:

1. If someone had the money they'd be better off with, and would most likely choose, a greenfield site nearer to large areas of population (see Yorkshire Wildlife Park);

2. The chances of a unestablished collection being able to obtain and hold Kiwis and Generuks are next to nil;

3. Have you any idea how much a half-decent Orang-utan enclosure would cost? Clue it isn't happening on a turnover (that's sales before costs of food, vets, wages, etc.) of £176,000.

Sorry to pop your balloon.
 
Shorts said:
Sorry Javan Rhino I'm not being patronising but that's not how the world works:

1. If someone had the money they'd be better off with, and would most likely choose, a greenfield site nearer to large areas of population (see Yorkshire Wildlife Park);

2. The chances of a unestablished collection being able to obtain and hold Kiwis and Generuks are next to nil;

3. Have you any idea how much a half-decent Orang-utan enclosure would cost? Clue it isn't happening on a turnover (that's sales before costs of food, vets, wages, etc.) of £176,000.

Sorry to pop your balloon.
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No worries :), so is there no surrounding land that could be purchased (I remember reading that it was 12 acres included, 2 of which the zoo was. Is there any land around that?)
Also, what I suggested was long-term and if you were loaded (lottery-win).

I do want to run a zoo when I'm older, personally I would build one on the outskirts of a large city (Manchester/Liverpool), but way out enough for there to be loads of development room.
 
All you have to do is buy it, build a decent restaurant, and then sell your story about buying a small rundown British zoo as a book and tv series and movie to recoup your investment. ...oh wait a minute, that has already been done. :D
 
Arizona Docent said:
All you have to do is buy it, build a decent restaurant, and then sell your story about buying a small rundown British zoo as a book and tv series and movie to recoup your investment. ...oh wait a minute, that has already been done. :D
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Hehe, is that the 'We bought a zoo," or whatever its called. Is it any good?

Also, out of interest, how feasible is it to start a zoo from scratch? It always seems like a pipe-dream that would be impossible to make true, but can it actually be achieved? (more importantly, can it be achieved by somebody that is working class?)
Where would you even begin :S.
 
1. Buy a suitable (ie, bigger) plot of land near a population centre.
2. Wait for Borth to close and try to buy the animals if the collection is desirable to you.
3. Spend the other few hundred thousand pounds on developing your own property.

The price is competitive as far as price:turnover goes. But the problem is a lack of obvious growth opportunities. Anyone buying this place will continue to struggle along as a 4th tier wildlife establishment for ever. The population base and available land simply aren't there to move it up to the level of Dartmoor, Welsh Mountain or similar sized operations.
 
Javan Rhino said:
Also, out of interest, how feasible is it to start a zoo from scratch? ... (more importantly, can it be achieved by somebody that is working class?
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Theoretically feasible: yes.
Feasible on a working class budget: no.

The price for this particular one is over one million US dollars, which for two acres of unwanted former pets in the country seems like a ripoff. Of course there is an additional ten acres included, which makes it a bit more reasonable. But still, if you are doing what they do and just taking in unwanted rescue animals, which are basically free, you could easily buy a lot more land than that if you are out in the country here in America and I presume also in the UK.

The real trick is how to keep money coming in to make it sustainable in the long run, which I assume is why this one is up for sale. It is a real Catch-22. To generate enough visitors you have to be in a city, but to get cheap land you have to be out in the country. :(
 
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