Zoos that close in winter

I've noticed more and more that a lot of small collections seem to be closing in winter. I don't see any advantage in doing so. It limits them out of school trips and also the OAPS who often like to go to Zoo's when there aren't loads of kids around and so on.

I can't imagine there is a huge increase in cost in opening than being shut, and they still need to feed animals and pay wages and that.

There's three local zoo's to me I'm yet to visit and was keen on doing so, yet notice all three are now closed until the middle of February.

I just don't get it.

 

Economics.

I'd expect they anticipate (or have experienced) that the meagre extra income from a handful of visitors doesn't cover:

Cost of extra staff to cater for visitors (entrance/cafe);
Cost of wasted food as hard to predict demand for cafe;
Cost of cleaning up visitor areas (cafe/toilets/bins);
Cost of heating visitor areas;
Other costs of maintaining the park (e.g. walkways) in the winter,

Plus they might find they can do their work (keeping and other maintenance work) quicker, with a skeleton staff with no visitors to get in the way.

There's also the chance that visiting a small, obscure, place in bad weather, when it's muddy and the animals remain (off show) inside might put general visitors off a return visit and lead to bad publicity.

It's a shame but I can understand why a small collection in a geographically isolated place with a small catchment population might choose this option.

 

Out of interest which are the three closed zoos?

 

I love visiting zoos in the winter.

 

We're quite lucky that's it's a handful, my wife's parents live in France, and a lot of the bigger zoos close this time of year (not that that's an excuse not to visit lol). Even Pairi Daiza is closed now until March....

 

Combe Martin (Dinosaurs are still open though, do not fear)
Axe Valley Wildlife Park
Tropiaquaria (This is a cracking little place)

Me too.

 

Combe Martin (visited once, no great desire to return) -I'd imagine the steep hill the zoo and (to a far greater extent) the car park sits on would make it treacherous in poor weather.

Axe Valley (enjoyed with reservations) -I'd don't think the rudimentary pathways would stand up and be safe for people trudging around in winter conditions.

 

Cotswold Birds of prey is now closed till early next year but this is very understandable as the drive way to the collection as a steep incline and going into the collection you have to walk down/up a very nasty steep incline I should imagine in bad weather there would be no chance of walking or even driving to the collection.

 

But you can still visit the glorious Batsford Arboretum next door, open every day except Christmas Day!