Twycross Zoo to temporarily close because of second lockdown

Twycross Zoo say they will close for a month due to the second national lockdown.

A statement on the zoo's Facebook said: "We are here again and heartbroken that we find ourselves in such a difficult position once more… but we must do what it takes to beat this virus together. Therefore following the government announcement of a national lockdown, at 5pm on Wednesday 4th November we will once again close our gates until 10am on Thursday the 3rd of December.

"We hoped sincerely this day would not come again, as we have made no secret that our beloved zoo has been fighting for survival since the spring lockdown which has already led to a £3.5 million dent in our finances. Despite working hard to influence the government the £100m million zoo fund is sadly still not accessible to us, and many zoos, due to extremely limited eligibility criteria. These factors combined continue to put the vital conservation and education work we do both on site and around the world at risk.

"Twycross Zoo has always had a great community around it and YOUR efforts to help get us back on track with your unwavering support in both visits and donations has been humbling and for that we are truly grateful. You really are our saviours and we sincerely hope with you by our sides we will get through this again.

"Twycross Zoo needs you once more…
With your help we can all come out the other end happy and together once more
With your help we can all enjoy our beautiful 100 acre site and help protect many critically endangered species from extinction
With your help we can continue to provide a safe place where we inspire all generations to care about the animals with which we share our planet
With your help we CAN survive

"While we will close our doors to visitors the reality is our animals cannot be furloughed so our dedicated staff need to continue to work during this period. So we will be here behind locked gates once again caring for our animals and protecting vitally endangered species. We will try as much as we can to share our stories and activities with you we hope that our animals can be of comfort and support to some of you during this difficult time and we look forward to welcoming you again soon. Please take care of each other."