UK Zoos closed due to COVID-19

Ned said:
£1.57 billion for arts venues. Seems the government are looking after the middle classes.

Arts venues get £1.57bn government lifeline
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'The middle classes'? Wow.

The money will support grassroots ('working class' if you must) live music venues every bit as much as the Royal Albert Hall, assuming it is distributed as intended.

The arts employ hundreds of thousands of people and generate half as much as again in taxation in a year as they are being given here (and some of this is only loans). It's much-needed and exceptionally welcome support for one of the few industries left at which the UK is genuinely world-leading. It's rather more than 'looking after the middle classes'.

Not saying it wouldn't be nice for a bigger chunk of cash to come zoos' ways, of course it would be, but there's no need for this sour grapes reaction to another sector getting the support it needs.
 
I would say that if the Government is simply looking at the number of people employed, then this very wide 'sector' must employ far more people, that the zoo world does (or did!)...? I dont have any figures to hand so this is just an assumption. Even allowing for an equal percentage of these organisations to be as cumbersome and as overstaffed as any other sector, presumably more jobs will equal bigger grants.
The value of Lego animals over real ones, is a question I could personally easily answer - but other opinion might value the plastic ones higher, I suppose.
It is interesting that the UK always separates collections of living animals from collections of dead or artificial ones, in a way not done in many other countries. The zoo/museum boundary is often blurred elsewhere, but not here - even when a zoo starts to become part gallery or part museum.
We are used to zoos being penalised at the expense of other 'leisure' in other UK law such as planning, so we should not be surprised if this carries over to Covid grants.
 
Some statistics re: the UK arts and culture sector

The economic contribution of the Arts.

Based on the Arts Council England report commissioned from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), the arts and culture industry in 2016 was responsible for:

  • £21.2bn in direct turnover
  • £10.8bn in Gross Value Added (GVA), with £8.6bn of this generated by the market segment of the industry and the remaining £2.2bn contributed by the non-market organisations
  • 137,250 jobs
  • £6.1bn in employee compensation
When indirect and induced effects are also added in, the arts and culture industry is estimated to have supported £48bn in turnover, £23bn in GVA, 363,713 jobs and £13.4bn in employee compensation.
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The UK has four of the top 10 most visited museums in world - more than any other country. According to 2018 visitor data published in the Art Newspaper, Tate Modern was the most visited institution (5.86m, 5th), followed by the British Museum (5.82m, 6th), the National Gallery (5.75m, 7th) and the Victoria & Albert Museum (3.97m, 10th).
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ARTS AND CULTURE - ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION
  • The arts and culture sector accounts for c.0.4 per cent of UK GDP.
  • Broadly, the UK arts and culture industry support c.260,300 full-time equivalent jobs, or 1.1 per cent of total UK employment. (Note, this number differs from official government data due to differences in categorisation and counting methods).
  • The arts and culture industry pays nearly five per cent more than UK median salary, thereby making a positive contribution to average household earnings.
  • The UK’s arts and culture are a very strong draw for international visitors, attracting at least £856m of tourist spending.
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To suggest this is just the middle-classes looking after their own seriously smacks of sour grapes. The arts and culture sector are massive economic players, and significant employers.

Also, we don't yet know what the criteria will be for eligibility and payout. Much like the Zoo Fund is limited in who is eligible and how much can be applied for, there may be similar pinch points with this fund. And as @Maguari says, this fund will support more than just the big names; many, many more small, independent art and culture venues should hopefully be supported by this.
 
Sorry, I'm not sure of this, but aren't most of the museums listed free to enter?
 
All national museums are free to enter, and have been since the mid-1990s. Prior to that time, they charged an entry fee, which was removed to allow lower-income people and families to visit. They do however charge an entry for temporary exhibitions
 
Note although limited in numbers Zoos are now open. Theatres may not reopen for another 12 months.
250,000 people per week normally go to West End Theatres with a huge spin off into Restaurants and Hotels etc.
You can't compare an outdoor Zoo activity with a mass of people enclosed in a Theatre.
 
And prior to the days of entry fees introduced by Margaret Thatchers government, museums were free.
 
Ned said:
And prior to the days of entry fees introduced by Margaret Thatchers government, museums were free.
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Museums are not free. Nothing in life is, unfortunately. As Pipaluk and Crowthorne said they are free to enter. All this means is that your visit is paid for by someone else (everyone else?) - ie the tax-payer.
 
Viaduct Animal Sanctuary - Exotic Animal Rescue, is set to close due to a lack of funds caused by the pandemic. Most animals have been moved onto other sanctuaries, or to trusted members of the public.
 
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