Staff made redundant at two zoos as bills rise

A red panda cub was born at Banham Zoo in Norfolk last year

The owner of two of the largest zoos in the East of England said staff were being made redundant.

The Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA), which runs Banham Zoo in Norfolk and Africa Alive at Kessingland, Suffolk, said less than 10% of employees at the two sites were affected.

The charity, which has more than 200 staff members, claimed the redundancies were part of measures to protect its "long term financial stability".

Chief executive Claudia Roberts said all affected employees had been informed.

She added: "Like many organisations across the country, the last few years since 2020 have thrown relentless economic challenges which have had a very human impact."

In January, Ms Roberts described rising energy bills at the two zoos as "quite terrifying", and claimed costs had risen by more than £1m in 2022 alone.

Earlier this year, Ms Roberts said ZSEA hoped for government support

Gerard Smith, ZSEA’s chair of trustees, said bills and other rising costs affected the charity's 2024/25 budget.

He said redundancies were needed to "protect the charity through future winter periods due to the seasonality of the operations".

"We have to be able to maintain our high-quality veterinary care and animal management," he added.

In March, Banham Zoo announced plans to expand its native species breeding and wildlife programme over the next seven years, but said its number of exotic animals would not dwindle as a result.