Zoo in plea for support after being ‘let down by government’
TWYCROSS HAS HAD TO TAKE OUT LOANS TO HELP IT SURVIVE
LEICESTERSHIRE attraction and conservation charity Twycross Zoo has issued a plea for public support, saying it is being failed by the government’s £100 million Zoo Fund.
The zoo is reaching out to its community of supporters to back a new donations appeal – “Help us today, believe in tomorrow” – so it can continue to keep its vital charitable work going.
The zoo says the £100 million Zoo Fund has flawed criteria and Twycross has no other option than to ask for the support of the public once again.
The scheme was announced by
Dominic Raab as the saviour for charity zoos. But, according to Twycross Zoo, only around £3 million has been released to support mainly small zoos and the scheme is due to end in March without any likelihood of change in criteria to include zoos caring for hundreds or even thousands of endangered species.
Twycross Zoo uniquely relies almost entirely on visitors to cover its zoo operating costs and conservation, research and education work.
A closed zoo means no income so to survive, Twycross has had to take on loans and use up its reserves to prioritise caring for its animals. This also means delaying vital work on animal habitat upgrades, and halting scientific conservation projects and educational programmes.
Dr Sharon Redrobe, chief executive of Twycross Zoo, pictured, said: “Our planet is in the sixth extinction crisis and it’s not good enough that more species will go extinct in our lifetime.
“If it wasn’t for zoos, chimpanzees, one of the closest living cousins to the human race, would be extinct in the wild within 25 years, however, zoos together have secured the population for at least 100 years, showing how vital it is to support our work right now.
“We feel extremely disappointed and let down by the fact that the government will not change the criteria of the £100 million Zoo Fund, leaving conservation charities like ours facing crippling debts for years to come and unable to complete much of the work we exist to do.
“With multiple lockdowns and the ever-changing Covid-19 guidance over the last 10 months, we have been so thankful to our communities for supporting our 57-year-old zoo, however we are still sadly relying solely on public support to help us pay our bills.
“Covering our operational costs and overheads is a day-to-day concern for most organisations right now but we and the government must not forget why our charity is here and how important it is to continue in our work to support our mission, to help save the species with which we share our planet.”
Twycross Zoo is renowned as a World Primate Centre and is the only place in the UK that is home to the four great apes.
The conservation charity is part of 46 breeding programmes and saw 22 births in 2020 and usually educates 60,000 school children per year about the natural world.
To support Twycross Zoo’s donations appeal “Help us today, believe in tomorrow”, visit: