I originally posted this on the "design a zoo" forum, but it hasn't got much attention so far, so im posting it again here: Im not sure this is really the right place for this as its less of a fantasy and more something that I genuinely want to happen in a few years time but oh well.. basically my idea is to open a rescue centre in Europe for zoo animals that have come from bad zoos, circuses, have been kept as pets e.c.t I know there are places like this already (lionsrock in South Africa is what Im mostly thinking of here) but they are all either very small and not able to hold a lot of animals, or they are a long way from Europe, meaning expensive and stressful journeys for the animals. obviously, I cant really plan what animals would be in the zoo- I imagine there would be a lot of lions, tigers and bears (oh my) from zoos and circuses as well as things like lemurs, small monkeys, parrots, reptiles that people have tried to keep as pets (a friend of mine suggested that if the zoo was near Heathrow animal centre or similar I could also take in illegally imported animals) I really want to see if people on here think this is something that can actually be done and if the public would visit it and donate money to help with animal rescues, also if anyone has any other ideas that might help thanks!
In a nutshell could it work - yes. But you have to remember there are allready plenty of resuce centres animal bird and reptile sanctuaries up and down the country some known nationally some known locally. Don't forget zoos will also step in if the species is interesting enough and many zoos started up on this basis. If it was me i would start of small first and probably specialise on certain species. what you wouldnt want to do is say go for reptiles and then the first one you get called out to pick up is 20ft of King Cobra or say birds and a large Eagle owl yurns up on your door. Parrots or parrot type birds would be a good start as alot of these would come in from pet trade - been happy pets for years then the owners die some of these birds can live to 90.Would people pay - yes probably but again some of these animals could well be traumatised from their experience - being close to the public may not be the best thing.Where you position your self in the country i think is neither here nor there but you want good aspect to transport links that is your main priority. hope this helps
Thanks, Im still in uni, so I wont really be thinking of this for at least another 3-4 years but its a dream I've had for a while and wanted to see if it was realistic. my specialist subject is/ will be large carnivores but you brought up a good point about starting small. what you said about zoos stepping in is true- I know Yorkshire wildlife park rescued some lions a while ago, but even then I think there would be an issue of space, because I think most zoos would rather have a range of animals, rather than say, having 10 enclosures all with lions in. I really want the primary objective to be rescuing animals, with the public coming in primarily to provide funds, so if there had to be some animals off show, hopefully that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again for your suggestions, its really helped
Yes your right zoos would only want 1 or 2 exhibits of the same thing but why well because they wouldn't get the visitors - you would have the same problem. a bit chicken and egg really . You have a few years yet so don't worry but after/during uni get some experience at a zoo. most have volunteer schemes. The Monkey sanctuary Monkey world Shepreth wildlife Park Isle of wight monkey haven isle of wight zoo wales ape and monkey parrot zoo to name a few are or still are sanctuaries
yeah, I have worked with cheetahs before, and I've located a big cat sanctuary where I can do an internship, now I just want to find somewhere to get experience with wolves
If you have the authority, big cats, especially lions and tigers are relativly easy to obtain, as there are a huge amount in unliscensed private collections compared to most animals. Also there is a huge problem with breeding centers that inbreed tigers and lions to obtain white tigers and lions, and eventually send them to parks for a high price. So these leftover cats wouldn't be too hard to get if you asserted yourself as a reliable sanctuary.
It doesn't really sound much different from a general exotic animal sanctuary, so yeah, it would be feasible. Since you intend for this place to be a rescue center, I imagine one tricky part would be anticipating what animals you might get and plan accordingly. Would you try making some really big enclosures capable of holding large amounts of animals?
5 Sisters Zoo near Edinburgh has rescued three performing bears and is expecting to rescue four male lions.
