Animal Support Fund

A lot of grub goes into feeding 120 species of animals at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol. With it costing over £3k per day to pay for keepers’ wages, food and veterinary care and with no income from visitors on site, the Zoo has started fundraising to continue feeding the animals.

To visually show the amount of food the zoo needs, the Keepers collected all the food together in one photograph to show how much food the animals consume. From bugs, to vegetables and meat to browse, this vast amount of food, feeds the animals for just one day.

Each animal has different needs from elephants, rhinos and giraffes to gibbons, giant anteaters and meerkats. These are animals with specialist diets, and they need skilled care from trained animal keepers.

Noah’s Ark has started a fundraiser to raise money for their Animal Support Fund which will go towards animal food during the COVID lockdown. The zoo relies entirely on visitors to cover the costs of running the zoo. The ticket sales and income from the café and gift shop are what pays for feeding and caring for the animals.

It costs £8,000 each month just to feed the animals and this is the amount the zoo are hoping to raise with their new fundraising efforts.

Larry Bush, MD of Noah’s Ark said: “It’s been so moving to receive messages of support and generous donations from people who obviously love Noah’s Ark. This means so much to all of us and is helping us keep going through these difficult times.”

The zoo was able to secure extra borrowing from their bank at the beginning of lockdown, but with the vast amount of upkeep a zoo needs, the zoo is now having to ask for donations from supporters and members of the general public.

If you can donate to help the zoo continue to feed and care for their animals, go to their Facebook page or website to give as little or as much as you can.