Starting Your Own Zoo

Dear @HAS (the guy who "made" a zoo in haiti),

if you live in Haiti and are making a zoo there, then why on Zoochat does it say you are from:

"NYC, NY, USA"

?
 
iluvwhales said:
It sometimes depends on who you ask. Although Brooklyn and Queens are boroughs of NYC, they are on the Long Island land mass, the same land mass that also houses Nassau and Suffolk Counties. I consider it a debate as old as time.
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If the zoos are on Long Island then it isn't debatable that Long Island has AZA accredited collections on it, even if said collections are found in New York City.

~Thylo:cool:
 
Hello everyone, joining the discussion. I just hear about a new zoo that is gonna open in my home country and its initial investment was 70 million euros. The owner of the zoo already was the owner of the land (inheritance from the family). So my big question is, how do you get the money? Do you have to work a lot yourself designing the project and then try to find investors? I know that you can easily get animals from other collections (for free, except for the transport) but the land, the construction, all the permits, the wages of the workers, etc. It seems like you can only open a zoo if you have born rich or you won the lottery.

And yes, I also dream to create my own zoo and create a huge conservation hub!
 
João Pedro Gomes Meireles said:
Hello everyone, joining the discussion. I just hear about a new zoo that is gonna open in my home country and its initial investment was 70 million euros. The owner of the zoo already was the owner of the land (inheritance from the family). So my big question is, how do you get the money? Do you have to work a lot yourself designing the project and then try to find investors? I know that you can easily get animals from other collections (for free, except for the transport) but the land, the construction, all the permits, the wages of the workers, etc. It seems like you can only open a zoo if you have born rich or you won the lottery.

And yes, I also dream to create my own zoo and create a huge conservation hub!
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Some people save up and do things like sell their houses or personal items. One really interesting way to startup a zoo is by using crowdfunding. By paying people can choose things like animal names all the way up to what animals they want at the zoo. Many zoos use local corporations or businesses to help fund new exhibits so that could always be the way to go.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Some people save up and do things like sell their houses or personal items. One really interesting way to startup a zoo is by using crowdfunding. By paying people can choose things like animal names all the way up to what animals they want at the zoo. Many zoos use local corporations or businesses to help fund new exhibits so that could always be the way to go.
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Thank you very much for your detailed perspective!
 
I founded my zoo step by step. Twice actually, in two different countries. I did not sell my house or personal items, I'm not Richie Rich, have not won the lottery (yet?) and I have never heard of any zoo successfully established by crowd funding. I don't have 70 millions to spend, my zoo is tiny and I do most of the work by myself, but it's still a licensed zoo with over 50 animal species. I don't know how @Westcoastperson got his / her zoo running, but you can read up on my story here:
How to found a zoo - WdG Greifswald and WdG Salzburg [Welt der Gifte Greifswald (Closed)]

In general, founding a zoo is indeed something for the affluent if you want to follow the usual path of charismatic megafauna and mass entertainment. There are, however, other ways, but none of them will make you rich. ^^
 
Batto said:
I founded my zoo step by step. Twice actually, in two different countries. I did not sell my house or personal items, I'm not Richie Rich, have not won the lottery (yet?) and I have never heard of any zoo successfully established by crowd funding. I don't have 70 millions to spend, my zoo is tiny and I do most of the work by myself, but it's still a licensed zoo with over 50 animal species. I don't know how @Westcoastperson got his / her zoo running, but you can read up on my story here:
How to found a zoo - WdG Greifswald and WdG Salzburg [Welt der Gifte Greifswald (Closed)]

In general, founding a zoo is indeed something for the affluent if you want to follow the usual path of charismatic megafauna and mass entertainment. There are, however, other ways, but none of them will make you rich. ^^
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Oh no I don’t own a zoo and none of these are massive investments for extremely fancy exhibits these are just to help with basic costs. I have not personally done any of these but I know people who have. Also I second what batto said these will not make you rich as these investments (except for the house) legally are required to go to your zoo and I don’t know many if any people at all who have gotten rich off of a zoo.
 
Andrew Swales said:
IS IT ... ?
Rather than just making the statement, could you list zoos which have started by Crowdfunding..?
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Ok there is the Heart of England Wildlife Prak slated to open sometime this year. While yes this one hasn't opened they have acquired the animals, public support, and approval from the local county the problem lies in finding a good plot of land, not financial problems.
About — Heart of England Wildlife Park
 
Westcoastperson said:
I have not personally done any of these
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Yet you speak with great confidence...;)
Westcoastperson said:
Ok there is the Heart of England Wildlife Prak slated to open sometime this year. While yes this one hasn't opened they have acquired the animals, public support, and approval from the local county the problem lies in finding a good plot of land, not financial problems.
About — Heart of England Wildlife Park
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We'll have yet to see whether this is a good idea and a sustainable option.

And no, you do not get all animals for free. And some you don't get at all if you're not accredited as member of certain zoo organizations, such as EAZA.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Ok there is the Heart of England Wildlife Prak slated to open sometime this year. While yes this one hasn't opened they have acquired the animals, public support, and approval from the local county the problem lies in finding a good plot of land, not financial problems.
About — Heart of England Wildlife Park
Click to expand...
They have much work to do to get open in 9 months, if they haven't even found a site yet...
 
Batto said:
Yet you speak with great confidence...;)
We'll have yet to see whether this is a good idea and a sustainable option.

And no, you do not get all animals for free. And some you don't get at all if you're not accredited as member of certain zoo organizations, such as EAZA.
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I can have all the confidence in the world but I can’t truly know until it happens. And yes 9 months is a small amount of so my best guess is best case scenario early summer of 2022 if everything goes well for the zoo.
 
Batto said:
True - yet you're already handing out advice like a man of the world. ^^
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That is fair, I was trying to give ideas I have heard of when I myself have had no experience but they aren't crazy ideas. Crowdfunding can be a great way to spread the word and build anticipation while also making money. And having local sponsors can also help local businesses thrive and cover the costs of a zoo, a symbiotic relationship almost.
 
Crowdfunding sounds like a way to potential fund a new habitat or exhibit complex (if anything) more than an entire zoo. I'm not overly hopeful for the Heart of England Wildlife Park, but I'd like to be proven wrong. Allowing any rando to control some aspect of your zoo sounds like chaos to me.

~Thylo
 
Yep sorry to hop in here but the Manchester Zoo plans that have recently been scrapped inspired me. I'm still young and the only experience i have is volunteering at Chester, but let's just say I might be working there fulltime soon ;). I have an A-level in Finances and Zoology and am currently working my butt off at uni. As a kid I've created many speculative zoos, most are surprisingly realistic as for some reason the 13 year old me didn't splash out on the megafauna until the fantasy funds and loans were looking good? So I'm hoping after a few years of experience and the council on my side, I might actually start a zoo one day.
 
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