More support for zoos and aquariums

Zoos and aquariums have been given another round of coronavirus support, the Scottish Government has announced.

The Scottish Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare Fund opened on Friday for applications, backed with £2.5 million of Government money. The fund builds on £2.6m in grants and loans offered to the facilities last summer.

Along with zoos and aquariums, key conservation projects will also be supported to cover any Covid-related funding shortfalls.

Rural affairs minister Ben Macpherson said: "We recognise this has been a challenging year for zoos and aquariums across Scotland.

"Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the sector, with restrictions affecting visitor numbers - an important source of revenue for zoos and aquariums.” in Scotland during the summer, following near elimination.

A report to the Scentific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) whose authors included academics from the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews estimated that half of Covid-19 strains were introduced to Scotland from England, with 24 per cent from the rest of Europe and 7-8 per cent each from Wales, Asia and North America.

And it has emerged that the Government's top scientific advisers warned last month that a "complete, pre-emptive closure of borders" was needed to fully prevent new coronavirus strains being imported into the UK.

Minutes from a meeting of the Sage held on January 21 revealed that the experts said the only other method of stopping any variants arriving was for all travellers to be quarantined in designated facilities.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced six days later that only people arriving from countries on a "red list" will be required to self-isolate in a hotel for 10 days.

It was confirmed last night that this policy will not come into force until February 15.

The advisers stated: "Evidence from the continued spread of the South African and UK variants suggests that reactive, geographically targeted travel bans cannot be relied upon to stop importation of new variants once identified, due to the time lag between the emergence and identification of variants of concern, and the potential for indirect travel via a third country."