Chester Zoo campaign raises over £1.8million to save zoo amid coronavirus pandemic
5 June 2020, 16:13
People have been donating to one of the UK's largest zoos in order to keep it open.
Chester Zoo closed their doors on March 21, days before the UK lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The zoo, which is one of the largest in the UK, was told by the Government to prepare to stay shut "indefinitely", while zoo bosses said they could face a year-end debt of £24million.
Now, in just a matter of days, over £1.8million has been raised to help save the zoo.
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🐘🐢 SAVE OUR ZOO 🦁🐧
— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) June 4, 2020
The last 24 hours have been INCREDIBLE.
Your support has given us a MASSIVE boost during what is, without doubt, the biggest crisis this great charity has ever faced.
We must continue our fight to SAVE OUR ZOO and all the vital conservation work we do💔 pic.twitter.com/ZtW1lm7tmb
The Just Giving page was created on Wednesday, and is still open, with the donations raising by the minute.
Chester Zoo have been vocal about their campaign to save the zoo, writing on Twitter: "The last 24 hours have been INCREDIBLE. Your support has given us a MASSIVE boost during what is, without doubt, the biggest crisis the great charity has ever faced.
"We must contuse to fight to SAVE OUR ZOO and all the vital conservation work we do."
This comes after chief operating officer Jamie Christon of Chester Zoo revealed that it costs £1.6million a month to run the zoo, and 97 per cent of that comes from visitors.
He said in a statement: "Not being able to open, despite being a huge outdoor site with all the necessary safety measures in place, is having a devastating impact on the future survival of this much-loved charity zoo."
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