Popular family-run Wild Zoo issues urgent plea for help to survive as costs spiral

On sunny summer days the Wild Zoological Park, located on the Halfpenny Green Wine Estate site at Bobbington, South Staffordshire, is bustling with families.

In the autumn and winter, however, it’s a different story. 

With fewer visitors turning out to the outdoor attraction during times of inclement weather after the peak spring and summer seasons, it’s becoming harder and harder to cover the £40,000-a-month running costs.

The situation is becoming critical and the team behind the zoo have now said in order to survive they need to relocate to somewhere they can provide an indoor, year-round educational offer to help meet their costs during the off-season.

Zac Hollinshead, who runs the zoo with his sister Georgia and mum Caroline Gautier and a dedicated team of zookeepers and staff, said: “It’s vital that we relocate. We haven’t got any space here - we either relocate or close.

“But we’re excited for Wild 2.0.

“We’re very grateful to the vineyard but we’ve exhausted the space we’ve got here; it’s a capacity problem.”

The zoo, which is home to animals from around the world including lemurs, meerkats, wallabies, an emu, otters, a wide variety of birds and parrakeets, reptiles and creepy-crawlies, was founded in 2016 by Zac and it has garnered rave reviews on the likes of Tripadvisor, Facebook and Google from satisfied visitors.

Around 300 people a day pour through the doors each day in peak season to watch the UK’s largest free flying bird shows and other educational shows, but in order to keep visitors coming and entertained in the autumn and winter the facility needs some indoor space - with a relocation plan for the business looking like its only hope.

To raise awareness of their plight, the zoo team invited VIPs including the Mayor and Mayoress of Dudley, Councillor Pete Lee and his wife Gloria, along with Staffordshire county and district councillor Victoria Wilson and Jo Judge, CEO of BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums), along in the hope of securing some backing.

Councillor Wilson said she has been looking out for a suitable alternative site for the zoo which she described as a "really great space in beautiful South Staffordshire which brings so much to the area".

The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Pete Lee, also gave the attraction the thumbs up, along with Jo Judge - CEO of regulatory body BIAZA - who said: "It's fantastic what they do here, it's really engaging and they're always there for the visitors. It's a really great family-run organisation that's doing the best it can with the site. With more space it would enable them to do so much more."

The VIPs were given a tour of the site as Zac, Georgia and Caroline issued a rallying call for help, support, sponsors and land to enable them to keep going.

Georgia, who has a background in early years education, said: “It’s a very unique place. It’s not your typical zoo. We offer a bespoke experience - we want to educate everyone who walks through our doors.

“We’re at capacity in terms of our enclosures and how many people we can get in through the doors.

“What we have here is an excellent model that works but we need to expand to provide more educational opportunities.”

Caroline added: “We’d like to cater to older people and children with special educational needs to provide bespoke workshops and learning. There’s lots of things we’d like to deliver that we can’t with the current facility.”

The team are currently looking for a suitable site with no pylons that extends to a minimum of 10 acres in South Staffordshire, to continue to attract visitors from the county and neighbouring Black Country boroughs, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Birmingham.

Caroline added: “We’re issuing a plea to anybody that might be able to help us.

“This would be gratefully received. As the winter is looming and despite all our best efforts, we just can’t keep our heads above water without help.”

Clive Vickers, owner of Halfpenny Green Wine Estate, said the zoo has "become a valuable part of our little community over the last 10 years" and added: "It has been a pleasure to host Wild Zoological Park at Halfpenny Green Wine Estate. 

"They’ve become part of the family here and have built up a brilliant reputation for exceptional animal care, and delivering memorable experiences for every visitor during that time.

"We have always supported Zac and the team in their journey and we understand their ambitions and the need for more space to bring their exciting vision for the future to life.

"We wish them every success in this next chapter. They will always have friends here at Halfpenny Green Wine Estate, and we’ll be cheering them on as they embark on their next big adventure."

Anyone able to help the Wild Zoo is urged to contact the team by emailing info@wildzoo.co.uk