16th February 2021

On 5th February, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) wrote to Boris Johnson calling for the replacement of the government's existing Zoo Animals Fund with a 'Zoo Recovery Fund'. Whilst the Zoo Animal Fund was designed with the intention to make sure animals in zoos and aquariums don't suffer due to financial difficulties, the BIAZA-proposed 'Zoo Recovery Fund' would go much further and would constitute a recovery package for the whole sector. Their letter mentions nothing about saving individual animals, just saving the industry. Alarmingly, this would mean that the cycle of animal suffering within such centres would be allowed to continue indefinitely.

The zoo and aquarium industry does not need saving – the animals caught up within it do.

Freedom for Animals is concerned at this proposal and we have have written to Boris Johnson, urging him to reject BIAZA's calls for any further funding to be made available to zoos and aquariums. Now is the time to be phasing out keeping animals in captivity, not ensuring it continues!