Banham Zoo and Africa Alive CEO's plan to save zoos

It has been a turbulent time for the twin attractions, with a perfect storm of Brexit, Covid and the cost of living crisis taking a toll on the charity's finances and reputation.  

In 2020, when zoos were forced to close during lockdown, almost 70 redundancies were made across the two parks - a third of the total workforce at the time - to give the sites a fighting chance of survival.

Then, a controversial multi-million pound plan to shift its focus from exotic animals to native species from the British Isles because of Brexit and bird flu attracted criticism rather than visitors.

A further 20 jobs were cut last year due to relentless cost increases, with significant savings needed to keep the zoos open.

The changes triggered a backlash from aggrieved staff and claims that the culture at the zoos had become toxic.

Amid the tumult, the charity's boss, Claudia Roberts, stepped down, claiming she had faced "widespread abuse".

In an explosive letter sent to staff explaining her decision, she said she had been the victim of years of online harassment and false accusations, impacting her mental health.

But despite making a small number of redundancies earlier this month, Mr Bartlett says a long-term plan is now in place to ensure both zoos have a future and the sites can move on from what has been a distinctly choppy period.

“It has been a challenging six months,” Mr Bartlett, who became the charity’s CEO in January this year, said.

“The zoos have been through some tough times in recent years, along with other zoos and wildlife parks across the country.

“It has been about getting back to basics. We’ve been communicating with our team, and we’ve got a plan together now which we believe gives us a more sustainable future.”

Ian Bartlett, chief executive of the Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA), the charity which runs Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: Adam Barker)'ZOO CREW' - A NEW MODEL

The charity recently made half a dozen redundancies as part of wider changes to its operating model, which will see the opening hours of both zoos reduced during the off-peak period.

"Unfortunately, we had to make six redundancies," Mr Bartlett said. "We’re in the leisure and tourism industry and footfall drops off through the shoulder months, so we’ve had to do the same as other businesses.

“East Anglia has a fantastic tourism trade, but it’s not 52 weeks a year. We’ve changed our operating model to reduce the hours we are open - but we haven’t closed a zoo.

“Our teams are now part of what we call our 'zoo crew', who are multi-skilled individuals. So, we’ve absorbed it to have a multi-skilled team to shrink in line with footfall and revenue available to us through the winter.”

Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: E M Brown Photography) BIGGEST EVER CAMPAIGN

The charity recently announced plans for a new education centre at Banham Zoo with the launch of its Together for Wildlife campaign, which hopes to fundraise half a million pounds to continue its education and conservation work in the community.

“It has taken us six months to get confidence back from the local community and establish ourselves as a brand that understands who we are and what we do," Mr Bartlett said.

“I believe we are in a position now where we can go out to local communities and ask for help.

Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: E M Brown Photography)

“Together for Wildlife is the largest campaign we’ve ever done. We’re looking to fundraise half a million pounds, which is much-needed funds for improvements and developments in our education facilities.

"We want it to be something we build as we fundraise, and we’re trying to do it with shipping containers to be more considerate to the environment.

"We want to try to work with the likes of Lotus and Aviva to help us with the technology so we can be greener in our build."

Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: Matt Keal Photography) The charity has worked with around 7,500 pupils from 200 schools, colleges and universities at Banham Zoo alone so far this year.

“It will enable us to repurpose our theatre so we can run education sessions for up to 290," he added.

“We also want to run an online curriculum for home schooling and we’ve put a package together with an education team that we will launch later this month.

“The other part of our fundraising is to improve the habitats and homes of our animals. We can’t do that without help from the local community.”

Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: E M Brown Photography) Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: E M Brown Photography) Banham Zoo and Africa Alive (Image: Ian Read) HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

"The team have gone through a lot," Mr Bartlett said. "They’ve been really resilient because their passion is for our animals.

"It's been about rebuilding their confidence in what we’re doing as well.

"We’ve struggled financially and we’ve had to work really hard. It’s credit to the team. They’re here for the right reasons and they’ve supported the zoos every step of the way.

"We have a plan now and we’re setting it up for the future. We’re now on the right path and I know we now have a more sustainable future."