Zoos and Economic Collapse

@Sun Wukong
I thought bird parks operate quite differently. They can get income from selling or exchanging parrots they breed.

Anyway, its terrific place and I hope it goes along. Alone experience in care for endangered birds is priceless.
 
I believe uk zoo's can buck the trend. I have visited chester, twycross, wmsp & dudley so far this year & they all seemed busy. I believe that a day out with the family at the zoo is alot cheaper than a day at a amusement park. The kids come away with alot more & I seem to save a fortune.
 
I spoke to a zoo director (US) today who said that while attendance is exceeding projections, the zoo's endowment (and they count on income from their investments) was down millions plus they cannot raise any money (contributions) for new exhibits. He was not happy...and the park is full of visitors.
 
Zooplantman said:
I'd need you to translate EVERYTHING for me! :rolleyes:
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Oh no-the scientific name of the plants should be the same, and ordering a "bier" and a "schnitzel" in the restaurant is easy, even with rudimentary knowledge of 'zee' German language:p. Additionally, more and more Germans are fluent in English, as nicely illustrated by the 2006 FIFA World Cup.;)

@Jurek7: The extent of the animals they can sell is limited, among others due to conservation guidelines. So when Walsrode sold some surplus Kagus (!!!) to private persons a few years ago, the private owners had to agree to join the official breeding program-and follow its rules.
 
Zooplantman said:
I spoke to a zoo director (US) today who said that while attendance is exceeding projections, the zoo's endowment (and they count on income from their investments) was down millions plus they cannot raise any money (contributions) for new exhibits. He was not happy...and the park is full of visitors.
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Thats interesting zooplantman. Had not thought that through! As obvious as it is when thought through!
I would bet that a 10-20% increase in attendance on face value would be huge! Yet no where near balanceing out the drops in income you mention!

Damm it...... I think others including myself were hopefull of zoo incomes actually increasing during the Recession!
 
zooman said:
Thats interesting zooplantman. Had not thought that through! As obvious as it is when thought through!
I would bet that a 10-20% increase in attendance on face value would be huge! Yet no where near balanceing out the drops in income you mention!

Damm it...... I think others including myself were hopefull of zoo incomes actually increasing during the Recession!
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I guess it explains why we read that attendance is up but staff is being laid off.
Shows again that zoos do not succeed based largely on attendance.
 
Zooplantman said:
I guess it explains why we read that attendance is up but staff is being laid off.
Shows again that zoos do not succeed based largely on attendance.
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Interesting point, would have to disagree. DAK, Bucsh Gardens, Sea World ect rely soley on attendance l would have thought.Yet they are doing very well.

Admitedly they are usually not dealing with the problems of old and outdated enclosures. I would think that they also do not spend nearly as much on insitu programs as public zoos do.

Seems to me that public zoos are going to have to, as they are doing actually. Dramatically reduce the variety of species. Become more competitive.

I have heard that over the past 10-20 years that zoos are actually employing more keepers per animal than ever before. This obviously has many benefits. Can they afford to keep doing this?

Just how many more ways are there going to be get more money from visitors? Are we going to see behind the scene behind the scene tours:p
 
zooman said:
Interesting point, would have to disagree. DAK, Bucsh Gardens, Sea World ect rely soley on attendance l would have thought.Yet they are doing very well.

Admitedly they are usually not dealing with the problems of old and outdated enclosures. I would think that they also do not spend nearly as much on insitu programs as public zoos do.

Seems to me that public zoos are going to have to, as they are doing actually. Dramatically reduce the variety of species. Become more competitive.

I have heard that over the past 10-20 years that zoos are actually employing more keepers per animal than ever before. This obviously has many benefits. Can they afford to keep doing this?

Just how many more ways are there going to be get more money from visitors? Are we going to see behind the scene behind the scene tours:p
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Sorry to disagree Stuart but DAK, Seaworld, Busch Gardens etc all depend heavily on corporate sponsorship not just gate money. Their signature presentations are sponsored by Pepsi, Kodak etc who also have exclusive marketing rights within the park and are multi million dollar contracts. I agrre with you that there is only a certain dollar amount the general public are prepared to pay in gate money. This is convieniently forgotten as we pay for overpriced food, drink and souveniers. As the credit crunch deepens many of these sponsoring companies will need to try and renogotiate these deals. I would liken this to the banks that have been criticized for continuing the naming rights of the mets and yankees new stadiums opening in new york after the banks in question took government bailouts. Can you really justify sponsoring a gorilla enclosure when that money could be used to keep 10 staff in employment? When the budgets for corporate sponsorship are slashed or totally cut, it may leave several animal collections with a short fall.
 
Beside the aspects @zebedee101 already mentioned, one could also remark that if zoos charged the entrance fees as the mentioned institutions charge (SeaWorld Orland: 75 US-$ / Person !!!), they would also have more money to spend-although I doubt that I would be able to visit a lot of zoos then...
 
Over the period of Easter Sunday/Monday, Birdland (Bourton in the Water UK) saw over 2,300 people through the gates. The busiest we have been for a long time. Events included Easter egg challenge, meet a keeper talk, bird of prey encounter and reptile awareness

For those interested admission is just over £6 for adults, I forget what it is for children
 
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