Africa Alive saved from potential closure thanks to £750k grant
It'll help the zoo after months of lost revenue
Africa Alive has been saved from facing closure thanks to a grant of more than £750,000.
The Zoological Society of East Anglia, the charity which runs both the zoo in Suffolk and Banham Zoo in Norfolk, has been awarded a lifeline Zoo Animals Fund grant of £752,000 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
£498,000 has been specifically awarded to cover the animal care costs since January up until the end of March 2021 while the zoos have been closed during the third national lockdown.
A further £254,000 has been awarded to undertake urgent repairs on animal enclosures around the two zoos.
Both zoos require a minimum of £25,000 a week to care for all of the 2,800 animals housed there.
The urgent repairs fund means that at Africa Alive much needed work can now go ahead on the Meerkat Enclosure and Lemur Island House.
Whilst over at Banham Zoo work is planned on the Siamang Enclosure and on the Tiger fence posts. In total there are 12 specific repair and improvement projects.
Claudia Roberts, Joint Managing Director, Zoological Society of East Anglia, said:
"A huge thank you to the Defra team and to the Government for this lifeline of support for the planned cost of animal care during this third lockdown, and to undertake much needed repairs.
"We can definitely sleep a little easier at night now that we can recoup some of our lost income, but we haven't won the lottery in any sense and our public fundraising will continue.
"We lost £1.5 million of income during the first lockdown in 2020 and it's going to be a very hard 18 months ahead.
"Whilst we are delighted to have an estimated opening date of 12th April, we have had no income since the start of 2021, so we still need to remain extremely vigilant in keeping our costs at the very minimum".
A spokesperson from BIAZA, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said:
"We are delighted Africa Alive and Banham Zoo have received the help they need for animal care over the next few months. We want as many zoos as possible to get the help they need in these extraordinary times. Zoos have an important role in conservation, education and science, we cannot afford to lose them."
To support Africa Alive and Banham Zoo with their fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/zsea