In the past couple of months, we’ve witnessed mother nature flourish and animals across the globe were seen reclaiming natural habitats. However, hundreds of animals will be left homeless because their zoo is permanently shutting down due to the pandemic. 

Recently, the Wild Planet Trust announced that it will no longer be reopening its LivingCoast sites because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Living Coasts currently houses marine species like otters, seals, penguins, rays, and puffins.

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Living Coast

The number of decreased visitors and the forced closure of all the Wild Planet Trust sites during the pandemic has pushed the trust to ‘look at its cost base and make efficiencies’.

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Living Coast had been welcoming visitors for almost twenty years, before running into a situation where they were in need of ‘substantial maintenance that the Trust is no longer in a position to afford’. A statement further reveals: 

The next stage is to find homes for the animals. Living Coasts is part of a worldwide network of zoos and aquariums and we will be looking for homes for the animals within them once movement restrictions have been lifted.  
Kay Elliot

Each of the 44 staff at Living Coasts are now at risk of redundancy. Ongoing donation campaigns to save the zoo have raised enough money but according to various reports, the amount is not enough. 

ITV

Here’s to hoping that the animals find good new homes.