When will zoos reopen? If zoos and safari parks in Scotland will be allowed to reopen as England rules to change from 15 June

As lockdown restrictions are being eased across Scotland, people are enjoying being able to meet with friends and family outdoors

But what about outdoor attractions, such as zoos? Here’s everything you need to know about when they might reopen in Scotland, as the rules change in England.

When will zoos be able to reopen?

Although some lockdown restrictions are beginning to ease, such as the reopening of child minding services and fully outdoor nursery provision, there’s no official date for when zoos will reopen in Scotland.

As lockdown restrictions are being eased across Scotland, people are enjoying being able to meet with friends and family outdoors (Photo: Shutterstock)As lockdown restrictions are being eased across Scotland, people are enjoying being able to meet with friends and family outdoors (Photo: Shutterstock)
As lockdown restrictions are being eased across Scotland, people are enjoying being able to meet with friends and family outdoors (Photo: Shutterstock)
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The Edinburgh Zoo website said they are, “closed until further notice, following “the latest government advice on coronavirus and social distancing.”

The Zoo adds that this is a challenging time as “Almost all of our income comes from our visitors and our food bill alone is £55,000 every month.”

However, there are plenty of ways to support Edinburgh Zoo, from buying admission tickets for use later in the year, to making a donation.

Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, located in Stirling, explains that the team of keepers and vets are continuing to provide care for the animals, and plans are in place for them to be able to do this safely.

At the moment they do not know when they will be reopening, but are in the process of installing social distancing measure around the park, which involves installing new one-way paths, hand sanitiser stations and social distancing signage around the park.

A spokesperson for the park said they “hope that we could be open sooner rather than later with us being a large outside attraction, with all the new social distancing measures we will have put in place.”

The park will also be limiting daily visitor numbers through their gates and visitors will only be able to purchase tickets online, with a limited number available daily.

The Safari Park website says, “We will keep in touch with you through social media. Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular updates and photos of the animals.”

“We promise that we will reopen as soon as we are able to.”

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Similarly, Highland Wildlife Park is also now closed until further notice, “following the latest government advice on coronavirus and social distancing.”

However, they add that “We look forward to welcoming you back soon!”

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Zoos in England expect to soon reopen

In England, Boris Johnson is due to outline the next step in the easing of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions at Wednesday's (10 June) daily briefing.

He is expected to say that the zoos and safari parks can reopen on Monday 15 June, as long as they follow social distancing rules.

Matt Hancock recently said that he hoped zoos would be able to reopen in a safe way, stating: “So I very much hope that we can get the zoos reopen in a safe and covid-secure way but of course, like all these things, it’s got to be done in a way that doesn’t allow the R to go above one and doesn’t allow the virus to get out of control.”

Various zoos, including the UK’s biggest zoo Chester Zoo, and London Zoo, have both reported financial struggles during the ongoing pandemic.

Chester Zoo had previously been told to prepare to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

A statement from the zoo read: “Zoo bosses say they have been told by government representatives to prepare for their gates to remain closed 'indefinitely', despite being 'Covid secure' and able to safely limit numbers and enforce social distancing rules – something that public UK beaches, parks and other beauty spots cannot do.”

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The zoo revealed that the coronavirus pandemic has already cost the wildlife charity a huge £5m.

Visitor revenue makes up 97 percent of the zoo’s income so the closure has had a huge impact on business.

The zoo’s 35,000 animals cost £465,000 a month to care for. Additional outgoings for utilities, insurance and more on top of this means that it needs £1.6m a month in order to keep going.

Jamie Christon, Chester Zoo's chief operating officer, had said: "Not being able to open, with such massive outgoings, puts the future of the zoo itself at risk of extinction”.

London Zoo had also warned it may be forced to close permanently. Although it has furloughed its 280 staff and reduced the salaries of other staff, it still costs £2.3m a month to feed and care for all its animals.

Have zoos reopened in Europe?

Zoos were among the first tourist attractions to reopen in many countries, including Denmark and Germany, when their lockdown restrictions began to ease.

Now they are reopening in France, Italy, the Czech Republic and some Spanish regions too.

In Belgium, the Park Pairi Daiza is opening its doors to a maximum of 5,000 visitors instead of its usual 30,000. Visitors will wear masks and they will socially distance, following carefully marked one-way pedestrian walkways.

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Zoo spokesman, from the Park Pairi Daiza Mathieu Godefroy, told the BBC, "Life goes on inside a zoo and it costs a lot of money if there are no visitors to pay for it.

"During confinement, we estimate we lost €100,000 (£90,000; $110,000) every day, for the whole year of 2020 we hope to limit our loss to €30m."