Safety first as zoo opens doors

Staff at the Five Sisters Zoo were delighted to be able to throw open their doors to visitors this week.

The zoo had faced an uncertain future after lockdown forced it to close, cutting off much-needed income.

But an appeal for donations led to supporters raising over £70,000, helping the attraction to reopen on Monday.

Adele Copland from the zoo said the grand re-opening had been a great success – but stressed visitors must pre-book online and not just turn up.

She said:“It was a great success. Our one way system and social distancing measures worked really well. It was a shame about the weather but everyone seemed to have a great time.”

Adele said a range of measures have been put in place to protect the zoo’s staff and customers.

She continued:“We are delighted that we can finally re-open our doors and offer our supporters a safe day out. We cannot thank the public enough for the support we have received over the past few months, it really has been amazing. With no funding we have been relying on donations and plant sales to keep us afloat.

“We have many safety measures in place. This includes one way systems on narrower paths, social distancing markings on the ground, we have significantly reduced the zoo capacity, time slots on entry to avoid queues, increased hand washing facilities and hand sanitising stations and our cleaning procedures have been significantly enhanced.

“At the moment our Lost Kingdom, castle and indoor soft play area will be closed.”