£10 could buy bedding for our Carnivores for one day
£20 could buy pellets for our Gibbons for a day
£50 could feed our flock of Lorikeets for a week
£200 could feed our Tigers for a whole week
£250 could feed our group of Chimpanzees for four days
In the heart of conservation for over 57 years, Twycross Zoo opened to the public in the 1960s from humble beginnings.
The brain child of Molly Badham and Nathalie Evans, coupled with their intense love of primates, Twycross Zoo was founded to fulfill their dream of protecting primates and set standards which were followed by zoos across the world for years to come. Little did they know back then that they'd be responsible for launching an organisation that has catapulted into one of the UK's leading science zoos.
Today, Twycross Zoo is recognised across the globe for award-winning animal welfare, research, education and the conservation of endangered species.
After repeated failed attempts for the Government to listen and review the flawed criteria of the £100million Zoo Fund, Twycross Zoo has no other option than to ask for the support of the public once again.
The scheme, which was proudly announced by the First Secretary of State, Rt Hon Dominic Raab as the saviour for charity zoos has been far from that when it was launched in Spring 2020. Approximately just £3million has been released to support mainly small zoos and the scheme is due to end in March 2021 without any likelihood of change in criteria for those zoos caring for 100s even 1000s of endangered species.
Twycross Zoo is a charity and uniquely relies almost entirely on visitors to cover both its zoo operating costs and conservation, research and education work. A closed zoo means no income and so to survive Twycross Zoo has had to take on loans and use up its reserves to prioritise caring for its animals. This also means delaying vital work on animal habitat upgrades, and halting scientific conservation projects and educational programmes.
With multiple lockdowns and the ever changing COVID-19 guidance over the last 10 months, we have been so thankful to our communities for supporting our 57-year old zoo, however we are still sadly relying solely on public support to help us pay our bills.
Covering our operational costs and overheads is a day to day concern for most organisations right now but we and the Government must not forget why our charity is here and how important it is to continue in our work to support our mission, to help save the species with which we share our planet.
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