Bristol Zoo announces when it will reopen to visitors

Bristol Zoo Gardens has announced it is reopening its doors on Tuesday 14 July after the longest closure in its 185 year history.

The zoo has been shut for more than 100 days after closing at the start of the lockdown. Final preparations are now underway to welcome back visitors amid growing financial uncertainty.

The Bristol Zoological Society has previously warned it may not fully recover from the effects of having to close its two sites due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ongoing costs of caring for the animals, maintaining the zoos and paying core staff while at the same time losing all ticket sales has made the financial situation "hugely challenging".

• Watch the full report on the Wild Place Project by our reporter Max Walsh

While Bristol Zoo still remains closed The Wild Place Project opened at the end of June with social distancing measures in place. Visitors now must prebook a time slot and stick to a strict one-way system.

Staff insist this been a success despite only being able to welcome back around a quarter of the normal number of people at this time of the year. All this adds to an increasingly precarious financial position for the charity.

In May the Zoo Support Fund was announced by the government, and provided relief for smaller zoos, but larger zoos, including Bristol Zoo and Wild Place Project, were not eligible to receive any of this funding as funds were limited to £100,000 per zoo.

The charity is now in talks with the government to see if they qualify for an additional £100 million rescue package which is being made available. Although there are concerns funding could be capped at a relatively low level.

A fundraising campaign for the charity has already raised £50,000. The zoos are nearly in a position where they can both open to the public, but social distancing means what should be the busiest time of the year is now one of the quietest.