A conservation and wildlife charity, responsible for the operation of two UK zoos, has announced plans for redundancies following a “series of crippling challenges” that negatively affected its finances.
The Wild Planet Trust, a conservation and wildlife charity that operates Paignton Zoo in Devon and Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, said it would be making an as-yet unspecified number of redundancies and reviewing its operating costs in a bid to stabilise its zoos’ operations.
The charity, which employs 304 people across the two sites, said employees at both zoos could be affected due to a “necessary review” of its staffing structure.
The Wild Planet Trust said it was unable to confirm exactly how many jobs would be lost because it was undergoing a consultancy process that would take a minimum of 30 days.
The redundancies come after the charity faced a “series of crippling challenges”, it said, including an outstanding £1m repayment owed to the government for a loan taken out during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The trust said that an avian influenza outbreak in 2022 also resulted in more than £1m in lost revenue and the cost-of-living crisis had further decreased visitor numbers, which was a major source of its charitable income.
The zoos’ finances have also been affected by ongoing repairs due to ageing infrastructure and increased costs due to inflation, the charity said.
The charity’s trustees said operational costs for both zoos amount to a “staggering” £1m a month, which the charity said necessitated cost-cutting measures, including redundancies.
Stephen Kings, interim chair of the Wild Planet Trust, said: “Unfortunately, the combination of Covid-19, avian influenza and the cost-of-living crisis has resulted in fewer visitors to our zoos over the past few years. It is often forgotten that we are a charity purely funded by our supporters, members and visitors.
“This has forced the trust to cut costs, which inevitably means redundancies. This decision has not been taken lightly. We consider ourselves a family at the zoo, but we have no option but to review our staff and operating costs.”
The charity said it had planned a series of investments and improvements at both zoos to stabilise operations. At Paignton, the charity is working to raise capital funding to refurbish the large mammal house, rehouse the baboons and reopen the currently closed crocodile swamp, Kings said.
At Newquay, the charity plans to extend its old buildings to provide better accommodation for its animals, develop the penguin pool and remove the zoo’s overgrown maze, he added.
Kings said: “The health and welfare of our animals is our number-one priority. As a self-funded charity we need the public’s support now more than ever, with our supporters, members and visitors joining us regularly throughout the rest of the year.”
The charity said it had informed its local council, business and tourism leaders of its current situation and is exploring potential partnerships.
According to its latest accounts filed with the Charity Commission, the Wild Planet Trust recorded a total income of £11.8m and an expenditure of £12m in the year ending October 2022.