Zoo bosses admit they may have to euthanise animals if they can’t be rehomed after lockdown forced attraction to close down due to fall in visitor numbers
- Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon, closed this week due to the impact of Covid-19
- The attraction, one of the region’s most popular, mostly hosts marine animals
- On its website it warned animals may be euthanised if they can’t be rehomed
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Bosses behind a zoo in England which has permanently closed due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown have warned they may have to euthanise the attraction’s animals.
Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon, was closed permanently as a visitor attraction this week, with bosses blaming a fall in visitor numbers and cost incurred during lockdown.
But now bosses of The Wild Planet Trust, which runs the site, home to mostly marine animals, have warned they may be forced to euthanise animals if they cannot find a suitable home for them.
In a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section on the attraction’s website, the owners said: ‘Our priority is the welfare of our animals.
Bosses behind a zoo in England which has now permanently closed due to the impact of the coronavirus lockdown says it may have to euthanise its animals. Pictured: The entrance to Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon
Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon, was closed permanently as a visitor attraction this week, with bosses blaming a fall in visitor numbers and cost incurred during lockdown. Pictured: The attraction is home to penguins
A total of 44 staff have been placed at risk of redundancy as part of the announcement. Pictured: An underwater tunnel at Living Coasts
But now bosses of The Wild Planet Trust, which run the site, home to mostly marine animals, have warned they may be forced to euthanise animals if they cannot find a suitable home for them. The warning was made on a a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section on the attraction’s website
‘In the unlikely event that we cannot find housing that suits their needs, we may need to the make the difficult decision to euthanise.
‘As things stand, we do not anticipate that this is a likely scenario.’
Bosses insist they are looking to find new homes for the animals and are contacting zoos and aquariums world-wide.
Though the say the rehoming of the animals will not take place until restrictions on freedom of movement are lifted.
They added that it was ‘unclear’ how long the rehoming process would take.
In a statement earlier this week bosses at the zoo announced the site would not re-open to visitors after closing in March due to the coronavirus lockdown.
The statement said: ‘It is with regret that Wild Planet Trust has to announce that it will not be re-opening Living Coasts as a visitor attraction following its closure during the current global coronavirus pandemic.
‘Falling visitor numbers and the forced closure of all its zoos due to COVID-19 has meant that it has had to look at its cost base and make efficiencies. After nearly twenty years of operation the site also needed substantial maintenance that the Trust is no longer in a position to afford.
‘The next stage is to find homes for the animals.
‘Living Coasts is part of a world-wide network of zoos and aquariums and will be looking for homes for the animals within them once movement restrictions have been lifted.
‘Most of the animals kept at Living Coasts are marine species that will need specialist facilities.
‘Living Coasts is confident that good new homes for the animals will be found, but at present it is unclear how long this process may take.’
The trust confirmed all 44 of the attractions staff were being placed at risk of redundancy.
They said they would be considered in the context of the wider restructuring of the Trust’s zoos, and potential redundancies at their other sites, Paignton Zoo and Newquay Zoo.