Battersea Park Children’s Zoo in London is seeking donations to their Crowdfunder page to help safeguard their animal’s welfare and husbandry at this extraordinary time - determined to overcome their third closure as a result of COVID lockdowns.

The site of Battersea Park Children’s Zoo has been a pillar of the local community for nearly 70 years and now, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and our third forced closure as a result of government restrictions, they are looking to their members, visitors and friends for support. They are funded entirely by the visitors and as a result of our closure, we can no longer rely on those funds to care for the 50 species that live at the zoo and cover our expensive daily running costs.

The past year has been an unprecedented challenge for everyone across the community. The zoo is currently closed, weathering the storm of a third national lockdown. With the support of the public and their hardworking team, they are determined to overcome this huge obstacle and welcome visitors back through the gates in the future. They strive to always be a place in the community where children of all ages and abilities can play, learn and discover.

The zoos daily food costs for the 100+ animals (50 species) living at the zoo is approximately £115 a day. This includes all fresh vegetables, fruits, pellet feeds, meat and fish. The weekly cost of insects for the monkeys, meerkats, lemurs, coatis and birds is nearly £80.00. £400 a month is needed for hay, straw and bedding materials. Just £75 would buy enough insects to feed all of their monkeys and lemurs for one week. £150 would feed all of the animals and provide fresh bedding for one day. £500 would be wonderful and ensure a few days peace of mind during this uncertain time.

Surviving this pandemic is vital as Battersea Zoo brings so much to their London Community. The zoo runs a creative education programme complying with the National Curriculum and teaches interactive workshops based on conservation, adaptations, the food chain and camouflage. The education programme attracts schools from all over London and is usually fully booked each year, with over 8,500 children learning at the zoo each year.

The zoo is now home to 50 species of mammals, birds and reptiles including a number of critically endangered species such as the cotton-top tamarin, Bali starlings, Scottish wildcats and lemur. The zoo actively participates in vital European breeding programmes with other zoos to conserve species and educate their visitors as to why many species are disappearing from the wild.

At the zoo, European hedgehogs and Eurasian harvest mice are bred regularly and released into the wild as part of reintroduction programmes across the UK.

To say thank you for the generous donations they receive, they are offering the chance to win a number of exciting prizes to look forward to when the zoo reopens again. If you would like to donate towards supporting the zoo, for every £10 donated to our Crowdfunder, they will enter your name into our support fund prize draw where you’ll have the chance to win one of 15 prizes! (£20 equals two entries).

Prizes include Keeper experiences, wallaby encounters, armadillo experiences and zoo tickets!

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