2 | Tuesday, March 30, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO Zoos: Costs mount as closures ordered
From page 1 every month since he was 8 months old, was devastated when it had to close. He In return, people who adopt an animal decided that he wanted to help, his mother receive a certificate, reports on its condi said. tion and free entrance to the zoo. They also To raise sufficient funding to feed every have the chance to experience the animal animal at the facility for a day, the boy ran being fed and cared for. a marathon over 12 days dressed as a lion, Online adoption is one of the projects his favorite animal. launched by the zoo to help attract more Before he turned 6 on Feb 20, he had visitors and raise additional financing dur raised over 11,000 pounds, more than his ing the pandemic. target of 10,000 pounds. Last year, the zoo lost more than 30 mil Goulet, the zoo owner in Canada, said he lion yuan, accounting for 40 percent of the has used every possible government assist previous year’s income. ance program, including wage and rent More than 80 percent of its income subsidies. He has received a total of about comes from ticket sales, and lockdowns C$240,000. and a limited flow of visitors during the With restrictions eased in Ottawa and pandemic have had a significant effect on Hamilton, small groups are now allowed the zoo’s operations. to visit Little Ray’s Nature Centre. Around the world, zoos face a similar or The zoo has also launched live Zoom even worse situation. shows, although they have only provided 5 In Canada, Paul Goulet, the owner of Lit percent of the amount it used to earn from tle Ray’s Nature Centre, a zoo and animal shows at schools and birthday parties. rescue organization with locations in Goulet said: “I’m happy we’re open, so Hamilton and Ottawa, said he is worried instead of losing C$80,000 a month we’ll about becoming bankrupt, as the pandem lose maybe C$60,000. It will curb our loss ic is killing his business. es, but we’re still losing money at a fast Gross revenue is down 94 percent com rate.” pared with before the pandemic emerged, He turned to the public for help, with a due to forced closures and limits on capac fundraising campaign amassing nearly ity during the pandemic, Goulet told CTV C$200,000 in donations from more than News in Canada. 2,000 people in just over a week. Although he has taken out loans totaling Meanwhile, after a twomonth lock more than C$900,000 ($716,450) to help down last spring, Toronto Zoo authorized pay bills and has also cut costs where he drivethrough visits for about a month can, the vast majority of his costs are fixed, before customers were allowed back in, such as food for the zoo’s snakes, sloths but with capacity sharply reduced. and tortoises. In July, the zoo, which has about 5,000 Jim Facette, executive director of Cana animals, said it would only accept advance da’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums, a pri bookings from visitors, before reverting to vate charitable organization representing drivethroughs in late November. the country’s leading zoological parks and It has raised about C$1 million through aquariums, said such facilities across the its nonprofit arm for a program called Zoo nation are having a hard time. Food For Life. “They’re hanging on, but it’s a struggle,” Although it closed again on Dec 26 when Facette told CTV News. the provincial authorities in Ontario He said some of these facilities qualify issued a stayathome order, Dolf DeJong, for the federal wage subsidy program and the zoo’s CEO, told CTV News he remains have received support, but others are not cautiously optimistic and hopes that it can eligible. host visitors again next month. “Our institutions are unique — you can’t “We’d like to think we can start rallying just switch off the lights, lock the door and from the losses we incurred early in the leave,” Facette said. year,” he said. He has spent a lot of time during the In China, many zoos are also exploring pandemic lobbying governments to find diversified business models, such as devel ways to keep zoos and aquariums going. oping animal science courses, designing cultural and creative products, and culti Closed down vating animal celebrities to raise more In the United States, Oakland Zoo in Cal Clockwise from top left: A keeper feeds penguins at Shanghai Zoo. ZHANG JIANSONG / XINHUA Keepers prepare the ostrich enclosure money for their inmates and to maintain ifornia has been losing about $2 million a at the reopened zoo in Muenster, Germany, early this month. MARTIN MEISSNER / FOR CHINA DAILY Visitors admire jellyfish at Duis normal operations. month since being shuttered in mid burg Zoo, Germany, on March 11. INA FASSBENDER / FOR CHINA DAILY In Jiangsu province, a cute but naughty March last year. monkey named Kai Sa has become a star at USA Today quoted Nik Dehejia, execu Nantong Forest Safari Park. Many loyal sup tive vicepresident of the zoo, which is operating budget to prepandemic levels. tions, which has proved virtually porters have bought the zoo’s annual mem nearly 100 years old, saying it has experi Unlike tourist attractions that can impossible for most of its members, the bership card and visit it every weekend. enced “financial distress” due to a lack of reduce costs by suspending operations, association said. The safari park has also developed more visitors. Home to 750 large animals, the zoos face high charges for animals’ food, Of 300 licensed zoos, only 34 have been than 20 interactive projects, such as zoo faces costs of about $55,000 a day for enclosures and health care. Species that are awarded funding to date, with a further 23 pigeonfeeding, to encourage more visitors. their food, leaving it in dire financial In addition, many zoos and aquariums applications being processed. The trend of coming up with new ideas to straits. protect and breed endangered and rare extinct in the wild are Colchester Zoo, a private facility in east raise money might give governments and Joel Parrott, the zoo’s president, told the species. Without sufficient funding, this absolutely dependent ern England, is among those that have owners the chance to rethink zoos’ functions. newspaper that since it closed, the zoo had vital conservation work has been put at been unable to access the government Chris Draper, a zoologist from the UK, cut corners on everything apart from ani risk. on human care. The fund or which do not qualify for grants. told Forbes magazine that some zoos make mal care. John Ewen, from the Zoological Society way in which we Heavily reliant on ticket sales, the zoo said valuable contributions to conservation, Nearly half the 250 employees have been of London, told the BBC: “Species that are decide to go forward in a statement it had been badly hit by the but he also argued that the industry as a laid off and senior staff members’ pay has extinct in the wild are absolutely depend pandemic, and still faced bills for feeding the whole is not held to sufficiently high stan been cut. ent on human care. The way in which we determines extinction animals, heating and for additional indoor dards and should be overhauled or Officials in California allowed the zoo to decide to go forward determines extinc or recovery.” bedding during winter. strengthened. reopen its outdoor areas in late July, but it tion or recovery.” Since the onset of the pandemic in March He believes the “zoo model” is flawed still faces a big challenge. Alexandra Zimmermann, a senior John Ewen, from the Zoological last year, it has been surviving on emergency and that high costs for running facilities Visitors provide more than 90 percent of research fellow at Oxford University, said Society of London funds after being forced to close. leave little to spend on habitat conserva its revenue through ticket sales, conces zoos worldwide contribute a huge amount However, in February, the zoo’s manag tion and also put animals’ lives in jeopardy sions, rides, giftbuying and parties, but of financial support for conservation in the ing director said the emergency funds during a crisis. attendances and revenue at Oakland and wild. were nearly exhausted. An appeal was Shen, from Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo, at zoos around the US are falling. “If we lose a lot of that support from the made to the public for financial support. said modern zoos should no longer be places In Florida, Dino Ferri, president of the effects of COVID19, then that will have a for visitors solely to see animals, but they Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Garden, really detrimental effect on conservation Raising money should also carry out conservation educa told USA Today he woke up one night try everywhere,” Zimmerman told the BBC. If we lose a lot of that On the Colchester Zoo website, visitors tion. ing to work out how to recoup the $1.5 mil Last year, the government in the United support from the can choose different ways to support the More important, zoos should continu lion the facility lost during the two months Kingdom introduced the Zoo Animals facility, such as adopting an animal, donat ously enrich the living conditions of wild it was closed. It reopened in May. Fund, providing zoos facing financial effects of COVID19, ing to the emergency fund, buying tickets animals, improve their welfare and Even when it was allowed to reopen, the trouble during the pandemic with total then that will have a in advance and shopping from the facility’s achieve species continuity, he said. number of visitors during the zoo’s busiest funding of 100 million pounds ($139.2 mil online store. Over the years, Hongshan Forest Zoo months was far below expectations. It lion). really detrimental The zoo also wants to raise additional has become popular among animal lovers depends on visitors for 80 percent of its However, in a recent letter to UK Prime effect on conservation funds, and to date has received more than and has earned their respect for its profes revenue. Minister Boris Johnson, the British and 7,000 pounds from the crowdfunding plat sionalism and caring approach. Ferri had to lay off 40 percent of the Irish Association for Zoos and Aquariums everywhere.” form GoFundMe. In return, their love and respect helped employees, cut the salaries of leadership said the fund had failed to provide ade Alexandra Zimmermann, A 5yearold boy, who has vowed to sup the zoo through tough times when it was team members — including his own — and quate support. senior research fellow at Oxford port the zoo, has raised thousands of unable to buy sufficient food for some ani launch a campaign to raise $1.5 million by Many zoos are unable to access the mon University pounds for its animals. mals who are particularly fussy about their December last year to restore the zoo’s ey, as they must meet a series of condi Thomas Rose, who has visited the zoo diets.
From left: White Bengal tigers Mohini and Begum react with their owner Tibor Toth on March 22 at a private zoo closed to the public during the pandemic in Felsolajos, Hungary. BERNADETT SZABO / REUTERS A giraffe attracts the attention of visitors at Duisburg Zoo on March 11. INA FASSBENDER / FOR CHINA DAILY Polar bear Vitus takes a bath at the reopened zoo in Neumuenster, Germany, on March 1. FABIAN BIMMER / REUTERS A panda enjoys afternoon sunshine at Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo, Jiangsu province. LIU JIANMIN / FOR CHINA DAILY