Does anyone know what the response has been to the German Zoos requests for 100,000,000 euros (one hundred million euros) from their Government, presumably in addition to their normal operating subsidies? Corona-Zwangspause bringt Zoos um lukratives Ostergeschäft
Yes indeed - we've seen no such request here in the UK, but it is very interesting to see a figure from VdZ; and hopefully the publicity will give us some lobbying potential to shame our Government - we are clutching at straws...
I am suprised that German govement hasnt aswered yet. Zoos in Germany are kept in high regard by much of the public so this could bring some PR plus points, I think. BTW, Czech ministry opened special fund earlier this week, each licensed zoo (public or private) can request immediate nonrefundable cash transfer worth their yearly animal food expenses. To stabilise their cashflow.
Than you Jana, that is another very helpful 'solid' figure, easily understood by anyone and already accepted and approved in any zoos previous yearly accounts. In the UK zoos are being given nothing, except the £25,000 offered to all leisure businesses, including those which can close, 'moth-ball' their operations and then re-open when allowed to - which clearly we cant. This figure will last us about a week, and will not be paid until sometime in June, IF we actually get it then. Our zoo associations appear silent, maybe because they are dominated by large institutions with plenty of reserves...?
Even without "ZooAid", Merkel and her ilk are pretty popular at the moment, at least according to some recently published polls. And to be fair, zoos have never really been up on the top of her To-Do list. As usual, she'll probably try to sit it out and wait... dict.cc | merkeln | Übersetzung Deutsch-Englisch
VdZ = Verband der Zoologischen Gärten e. V. = Association of Zoological Gardens (in the German speaking region), until 2014 known as Verband Deutscher Zoodirektoren (Association of German zoo directors). Beg your pardon for anticipate the answer, @Batto