The effects of the epidemic and lockdowns have forced the oldest provincial zoo in the world to close its main centre tomorrow.
The Bristol Zoological Society has said that “hands were forced” in the conversion of Bristol Zoo Gardens, which has been operating for 186 years on the edge of Clifton Downs, into sustainable dwellings.
The organisation stated: “Bristol Zoo Gardens has endured several difficulties for a long time. Specifically, the decline in visitors, the financial toll the coronavirus epidemic has had, and the difficulties in keeping up with the evolving demands of the animals.
The money from the sale will be used to construct a new zoo, which is planned to open in 2024 off the M5 north of Bristol.
The third nationwide lockdown put 24 zoos at danger of shutting, according to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquarium.
However, the industry has recovered, and vistor levels have now reached their pre-pandemic levels.
Since it opened, the zoo has welcomed more than 90 million visitors, and notable animals like Alfred the gorilla and Roger, the first black rhino to be born in the UK, have called it home.
Education and conservation are at the core of what zoos do, according to Jo Judge of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
A contemporary zoo must be first and foremost a conservation organisation, she said.
The amount of work that contemporary zoos perform in terms of conservation and research that cannot be done with animals in the wild is enormous.