The charity that runs the Highland Wildlife Park has warned the attraction is heading towards “extinction” unless it can re-open to visitors soon.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which also operates Edinburgh Zoo, has had to borrow £5 million since lockdown forced the closure of both parks and cut off their income streams.
With a monthly bill of almost £700,000 to keep both sites going, the charity says it hopes to be able to re-open by the end of June to avoid a “financially disastrous” situation which would put the future of both facilities in doubt.
Chief executive David Field, who joined RZSS this week, said: “In zoological terms we are an endangered animal and for every day we remain closed, for every extra pound we have to borrow, the closer we come to extinction.”
He said by this time next year, RZSS will have to pay £1 million in debt repayment, money that would normally go towards improvements at the parks and conservation projects.
“If we have to borrow even more, the debt repayments are going to cripple us. That’s when the real extinction risk becomes very serious.
“I’m not saying we are facing closure tomorrow, or next month. But the more borrowing we have to take now puts us into a very slow and painful decline.”
Mr Field said while the UK Government has helped smaller sites through the zoo emergency fund, RZSS and other large, charitable zoos are not eligible for this support.
While zoos in Germany were given permission to open in April, those in England were ordered to remain closed on 1 June. The legislation does not currently apply in Scotland and it is unclear when zoos can to re-open here.
Mr Field says he has held positive discussions with the Scottish Government and has “every hope” of being able to re-open by the end of this month on a restricted basis.
That would mean initially welcoming back just 10% of the 2,000-2,500 daily visitors to the zoo and more than 1,000 to the wildlife park. This could rise to 75 per cent in future phases.
To prepare for re-opening, a wide range of safety measures to protect visitors and staff is being put in place at the wildlife park. This includes safety shields and a one-way system on tracks and trails to ensure social distancing.
“We believe we can be an exemplar for this practice. We are experts at managing crowds and controlling behaviour so you would not see the free-for-all we have seen elsewhere in parks and gardens.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said it a difficult time for many businesses, particularly in the visitor economy.
“Our total package for businesses during this unprecedented economic crisis now totals £2.3 billion and we continue to listen to feedback in assessing what more can be done. At a time when businesses in every sector are facing unprecedented difficulties, we are using our resources carefully to help as many businesses as possible.
“We are in dialogue with zoos and wildlife parks as we work towards supporting them to reopen when it is safe to do so.”
Park determined that flagship wildcat project will go ahead
The Highland Wildlife Park is determined to press ahead with a flagship breeding facility for the endangered wildcat despite issues caused by the pandemic.
Work on the state-of-the-art centre, which is seen as vital to the future of the species, is expected to begin this year.
David Field, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said initial funding has been secured: “We are looking at starting as soon as possible but will only be doing minimum spend at the moment.
“The intention is to break ground on the breeding enclosures for wildcats and then bring kittens, which have been bred for us at other zoos, to the park in December so we can get the first stage underway. The later stages still need to find funding.
“However, this is not just a flagship project for RZSS but for Scotland as it is such a positive and uplifting story; repairing nature, rewilding the Cairngorms and putting nature back where it should be.
“The wildcat project is one of those things that made me want to move to the organisation as it is such a brilliant opportunity.
“It will not be a victim of the current situation. I am absolutely determined to deliver on this project. We will have to scale back on some of the initial plans, and we may have to scale back on some of the ambition, but the ultimate aim will succeed.”