The Clifton Courier Circulates in the Clifton, Allora, Nobby, Greenmount, Felton, Leyburn, Pilton, Victoria Hill, Cambooya and Wyreema areas.
Vol. 120 $1.40
Wednesday, April `29, 2020
$1.40 Your Local News
Funding secured to keep Darling Downs Zoo alive
Darling Downs Zoo owner Steve Robinson is “cautiously optimistic” after David Littleproud announced $94.6 million worth of funding to help support zoos and wildlife parks through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Member for Maranoa and Minister for Agriculture yesterday made the announcement at the Pilton-based zoo, which will be just one of many zoos to benefit from the funding. Mr Littleproud said he was aware how serious the problem was but wanted to make sure the government handled this right. “We have acknowledged that and worked with organisations who gave us advice on how to do this properly,” he said. “We have been working very closely with industry themselves. “We didn’t want this to be a Canberra-led solution, it had to be from the grassroots, understanding
what was really driving these businesses and the animal welfare decisions they had to make. “These businesses have been without income for months now and you simply can’t do that whilst keeping up with the expenses of keeping animals alive,” Mr Littleproud said. The funding will take into account all costs associated with zoo operations including feed, veterinary care, electricity and more. The funding couldn’t have come at a better time for Darling Downs Zoo, who have been kept alive by the generosity of residents in the region. Owner Steve Robinson said it’s been a morale
booster to see just how many people care about the zoo re-opening. “The last month or two would not have been possible without the generosity of the Darling Downs and the Lockyer Valley people - it would not have been possible for us to still be here today,” he said. The normal operating expenses at Darling Downs Zoo average around $110,000 per month. Mr Robinson said keeping up with these costs was
compounded by closure over the Easter break which resulted in half of the staff being stood down. “Easter is normally our best trading period of the year,” he said. “It’s the time of the year when we normally look to earn the money that we’d spend in the less profitable times of the year “Without Easter, the effects on this zoo and on the exhibited animals industry have been absolutely catastrophic.”
Mr Robinson said this announcement was as good as he could have hoped for, but will still go into the next few months cautiously optimistic. “The devil is going to be in the detail,” he said. “We are extremely grateful that the Federal Government has taken our concerns on board. “It’ been achieved after a lot of working with industry and that, I think, has been critical. “As the minister has said,
it’s not a cookie-cutter approach, its a very well researched approach. “They have been able to come up with a whole package now which is going to be extremely relevant for every individual operator within this industry. “With this announcement today we are really, for the first time, optimistic that we will be able to keep going and maintain the high welfare standard that Australia is well-renowned for,” Mr Robinson said.
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