MAKING A SPLASH BACK
$94m pumps oxygen into struggling FNQ aquarium and wildlife attractions
CAIRNS Aquarium and other Far Northern wildlife attractions have been thrown a life preserver to help them and their animals survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Government is expected today to unveil a $94.6 million support package for the region’s zoos and aquariums to assist with the costs of caring for their animals for the next six months. Eligible recipients of the grant include Cairns Aquarium.
Other recipients include Birdworld Kuranda, Rainforestation, Cairns ZOOM and Wildlife Dome, Daintree Wild Zoo, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, Kuranda Koala Gardens and Port Douglas Wildlife Habitat.
Aquarium co-owner and chief executive Daniel Leipnik said his facility had been operating with skeleton staff to ensure fish and other attractions were properly maintained during the temporary shutdown.
However, faced with huge operating costs and high fees to relocate animals, Mr Leipnik said it had been getting to the stage where they were looking at releasing their exhibits back into the wild.
“Last week, I sent out an email to the State Government and was asking on what does the legislation involved allow to repatriate some species back to the Great Barrier Reef,” he said. “I even started down the path of looking at what was involved in actually returning animals.”
He said while it was not yet clear how much of the support package the aquarium would be able to receive, it would still help the attraction function during the pandemic.
“There’s very high energy cost, fish food costs, medicines, chemicals and of course labour costs … seven days a week.
“This package is a complete saviour for our business.”
The support package has been made available to the Far North via the government’s $1 billion Relief and Recovery Fund to support regions during the coronavirus pandemic.
Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said he had been working closely with operators to ensure this line was forthcoming.
“There was no way I was going to sit by and watch these attractions – but more importantly the animals – face an uncertain future because they will be absolutely critical to the recovery phase,” he said.
“We know Tropical North Queensland’s world-class wildlife sanctuaries and aquariums are major tourism drawcards for the region. We also shouldn’t underestimate the huge positive flow-on effects our zoos and aquariums provide to the local economy.”