Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has sent a letter to the First Minister this week urging him to provide temporary financial assistance to Colwyn Bay’s Welsh mountain Zoo and to consider allowing the popular tourist attraction to safely reopen to locals at the end of the next lockdown review period.
Like many zoos, aquariums and animal attractions in Wales, the Welsh Mountain Zoo are struggling to make ends meet as a result of their closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In his letter to the First Minister, Darren emphasised the zoo’s status as the National Zoo of Wales and called for it to be given “special consideration for support from the Welsh Government.”
Following talks with the Chief Executive and Director of Operations at the Zoo, Darren also proposed that the zoo could be reopened to locals following the next lockdown review period.
His letter to the First Minister states:
“Unlike other enterprises, zoos have significant and unavoidable ongoing staff, premises and grounds maintenance costs which must be met for animal welfare and maintenance reasons. The Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay is no exception to these challenges but I believe that its status as the National Zoo of Wales deserves special consideration for support from the Welsh Government.
“The Welsh Mountain Zoo is a charitable organisation which hosts Wales’ largest collection of zoological exhibits. It is a national asset, located in North Wales, which participates in international breeding programmes and conservation efforts that inspire and educate both young and old. The Zoo receives tens of thousands of visitors annually, making it one of the top ten attractions in the region, and makes a significant contribution to the local economy.
“Other national institutions such as the National Museum Wales, the National Library of Wales, the National Theatre Wales, receive significant annual core funding from the Welsh Government. Our National Zoo is not seeking core funding of this kind but it is seeking temporary assistance for short-term business interruption to ensure its survival through the current crisis. Such support would prevent further rapid depletion of the Zoo’s charitable reserves which are designated for investment in new and improved facilities on site.
“The Welsh Mountain Zoo’s current unavoidable financial commitments are approximately £120,000 per month and I would urge the Welsh Government to consider underwriting this expenditure in the short term to protect this national institution’s finances.
“These financial commitments could be offset against ticket income if the Welsh Government is prepared to lift some of the restrictions on the Zoo opening. The Welsh Mountain Zoo occupies a 37 acre site and the majority of exhibits, with the exception of the reptile house, are accessed outdoors. As such, it provides a safer environment than the local supermarket, garden centre or library, all of which now have permission to open in Wales.
“Having spoken to the Chief Executive and Director of Operations at the Zoo this week, they are confident that the Zoo could reopen safely with effect from the end of the current review period. Planning for reopening is advanced and measures such as the introduction of a pre-booking ticket sale system to manage numbers on site while enabling social distancing have been developed.
“The Zoo is of the view that, if necessary, it could reopen to local visitors from Conwy and the neighbouring counties of Denbighshire and Gwynedd, in the first instance, to minimise travel, but this catchment is likely to be the minimum necessary to enable it to reopen sustainably.
“Given all the above, I urge you to personally intervene to safeguard the future of Wales’ National Zoo and its precious animals by extending extra grant aid to support the Zoo’s own fundraising efforts during the closure and to grant permission for the Zoo to reopen as soon as possible.”