Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, has raised concerns in parliament about the financial pressure that zoos – particularly the Isle of Wight Zoo – currently face.
During a debate on the reopening of zoos, aquariums and wildlife sanctuaries, Bob spoke about the plight of the Isle of Wight Zoo which had remained closed since the 24th March.
Seely: Qualifying period was far too short
Mr Seely said the Isle of Wight Zoo could not access Defra’s zoo fund because it had more than six weeks of operating income at the time of applying. He said the qualifying period was far too short leaving many zoos under extreme financial pressure.
Andrew Rosindell MP who lead the debate said:
“The reality is that we are going to see some of these organisations close permanently if the government doesn’t rethink the extra support that they need at this time.”
Defra Minister, Rebecca Pow, was present at the debate to listen to MPs concerns.
Running costs of £50,000 a month
Mr Seely stressed to the Minister that the Isle of Wight Zoo – which had running costs of £50,000 a month – could not restrict their outgoings in the way that other sectors, such as non-essential retail, could and put a number of suggestions to the Minister including:
- A longer than six-week financial qualifying period for the Defra support package.
- A review of the 2-metre rule and the adoption of a 1-metre rule.
- The creation of a regeneration fund for zoos and other visitor attractions.
- More flexibility for councils in the use of leftover funds from Covid-19 related grants.
- A reduction in VAT on tourism for the next one to two years.
- Consideration be given to the use of gift aid.
Last-refuge sanctuaries for endangered animals
Mr Seely highlighted concerns that not all animal sanctuaries and collections on the Island could reopen because they were largely indoors. He also said some were wary of opening because of the potential lack of visitors. He stressed that where they could reopen, they should be given the freedom to act responsibly.
“It is also important for the Minister to understand that Isle of Wight Zoo, the donkey sanctuary and Monkey Haven are not just visitor attractions, important though that is to our economy; they are also last-refuge sanctuaries for endangered animals.”
Support scheme remains under review
Ms Pow assured MPs that she had heard their concerns and said the support scheme would remain under review in relation to how soon the Government could provide support when a zoo was running out of funds.
She said the Government recognised that visitor numbers may not bounce back to the levels zoos would have expected for this time of year and confirmed she had heard the calls for a wide range of other wildlife enterprises, including farm parks to open.
News shared by the office of Bob Seely. Ed
