Coronavirus Australia: $100m aid for wildlife attractions

As zoos and aquariums struggle to survive without customers, taxpayers will foot the $100 million bill to feed the animals.

TAXPAYERS will cough up almost $100 million to help feed animals in zoos and aquariums across the country – including more than 30 in Queensland – as the tourism hot spots struggle to meet running costs during coronavirus shutdowns.

Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham will announce the SOS package today – revealing the cost of running aquariums, zoos and animal sanctuaries is no chicken feed.

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Other operating costs, such as buying snow or heating tanks, are bringing many of the tourism outlets to their knees, and while many staff have access to JobKeeper, some businesses are relying on donations to feed and look after their animals.

While tourists have been locked out, these are the costs in front of operators, which have called out for financial help:

* A large chimpanzee exhibit can cost as much as $500,000 a year to run

* A colony of sub-Antarctic penguins need about four tonnes of snow is each day plus day-night environments for their regular lifestyle and breeding cycles

* A dugong eats 20 tonnes of lettuce a year, costing about $50,000

* A large herd of elephants consume $100,000 in hay each year and just one lion eats $250 in red meat a week, or $13,0000 a year

Senator Birmingham said the financial assistance was needed.

Wildlife HQ head zookeeper Jarad Schenk feeds the black and white ruffed lemurs at the Sunshine Coast park. Picture: Lachie Millard

“This will be a lifeline for these popular tourism attractions that have had many of their revenue streams dry up during this crisis,” Senator Birmingham said.

“We know Queensland’s world-class zoos and aquariums are major tourism drawcards for regions, such as the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and tropical north Queensland.”

Wildlife HQ chief executive Jarrod Schenk said the funding would likely save a lot of zoos.

He said the Zoos and Aquariums Association had been lobbying state and federal government for weeks in the hope a lifeline would be extended.

“It is very welcome news for us, and the miracle we’ve all been waiting and holding out for,” he said.

“All of our keepers have been volunteering since the zoo closed, and the JobKeeper payments have been a great outcome to help our keepers, but we did need something to help save the animals.

“We don’t have a zoo to make money. People are not zookeepers to get rich, everyone does it for the love of the animals, and their passion to share that with people.

“This funding will save our zoo.”

Originally published as Coronavirus Australia: $100m aid for wildlife attractions