Posted In Events | 11th June 2021
‘Save Dublin Zoo’ voted favourite moment in our 190 year history
To celebrate our 190th anniversary this year we asked you to choose your favourite moment from Dublin Zoo’s 190-year history! After over 2,000 entries, the votes have been counted and we can officially reveal that the winning moment is… the ‘Save Dublin Zoo’ campaign!
In 2020, Dublin Zoo was experiencing one of its most challenging years to date. Visitor numbers were reduced dramatically after eight months of strict Covid-19 restrictions and two lockdowns. The loss of vital funds from ticket sales, coupled with a monthly cost of €500,000 to continue the world-class care the animals deserve, led to an uncertain future for Dublin Zoo. Without financial support, we were very concerned that we would have to make the difficult decision to close our gates to the public for good.
On 18th November 2020, The ‘Save Dublin Zoo’ fundraising campaign was launched, appealing to the Irish public to help raise vital funds to keep our gates open. The response to the campaign was swift and overwhelming for the entire team at Dublin Zoo. In just 12 hours on November 18th people from Ireland and abroad came together to raise €1m, and by 48hours we had reached an unbelievable €2m milestone.
Thanks to the support from both the public and the government, Dublin Zoo was able to navigate through a third lockdown earlier this year and reopen to the public on 26th April 2021.
We could never have imagined how enormously well our #SaveDublinZoo message would be received by the entire nation and beyond. Everyone at Dublin Zoo is forever grateful and cannot thank the public enough for their generosity. It also means so much that our wonderful visitors share this sentiment, and have now voted ‘Save Dublin Zoo’ as their favourite moment.
The long history of Dublin Zoo was put on record in 2009 for the first time with the publication of Dublin Zoo: an illustrated history. The new edition released last year brings the history of Dublin Zoo to life, from its modest beginnings on a four-hectare plot, to today’s Zoo of 70 hectares and includes a wide range of archive photography, interviews, new material and recent milestones such as the opening of many new world-renowned habitats and education centres.
Click here to purchase your copy of the New Edition of Dublin Zoo: An illustrated history to learn more about Dublin Zoo’s history!
