(Image Credit: CFJC Today / Adam Donnelly)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID-19

BC Wildlife Park leaning on financial alternatives to get past springtime visitor loss

Mar 30, 2020 | 4:37 PM

KAMLOOPS — The BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops says it will be leaning on grants, and donations to make it through the COVID-19 closure period.

Normally, springtime and Easter long weekend bring thousands of visitors to the facility, and losing that operation time has brought financial concerns.

General Manager Glenn Grant says it can cost around $5,000 a week to feed the animals living at the park. That’s on top of the money needed for animal rehabilitation, facility maintenance, and staff wages.

“Feeding the animals is definitely not cheap, and it’s springtime so the Fawcett Family Wildlife Health Centre will be quite busy with an influx of rehabilitation wildlife. Again, which is expensive to look after.”

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Through the spring, Grant says the park normally gets 10,000 visitors a month, which won’t be happening this year.

“For the month of March, self-generated revenue would be about $120,000, and we’re at $30,000 being closed,” Grant explains. “So we’re going to be closed for all of April for sure, and that’ll be another $130,000 in lost revenue.”

About 50 per cent of the park’s staff have been laid off for now, aside from those in animal care, and some facility maintenance employees. Grant says to ease the loss in revenue, the park does have some reserve funds set aside from last year’s earnings.

“With the line of credit we have at the bank as well. We do get a grant from the City of Kamloops every month, and we do get a small bit of revenue for wages from the gaming commission in a gaming grant. So we have enough funds to last about another eight to 10 weeks, and then we’ll be really scrambling for financial assistance,” he notes. “So if anybody in Kamloops thought of donating something to help the wildlife of the BC Wildlife Park, now is definitely the time to do that.”

Grant says provincial and federal assistance applications are being sent in, but the park is also hoping for community donations to make sure the animals can continue getting the care they need.