Thousands enjoyed the free day at Durrell
A RECORD 15,000 people flocked to a free open day at Durrell to celebrate the organisation’s 50th birthday yesterday.
It was the highest number of visitors ever seen at the world-renowned wildlife park in one day. Long queues snaked around the meerkat, gorilla and orang-utan enclosures to get a glimpse of some of the animals that the trust has brought back from the brink of extinction.
Durrell Day was organised to thank Islanders and visitors for their support over the last 50 years and to celebrate the work of Durrell around the world.
Since the beginning of 2009 Durrell has held a variety of events and fund-raisers to celebrate five decades since the Trinity site opened in 1959. The free open day was their most successful event yet. More than 100 volunteers, marshals and honorary police helped to guide the traffic around the lanes and into overflow parking throughout the day.
• Pictures: Jon Guegan
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Article posted on 14th July, 2009 - 2.57pm
32 Article Comments
15,000….. Cheapskates…..i’d rather pay the £10 entrance fee to be able to actually see the animals and know it’s going to a good cause.
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A very strong argument for Durrell to re-consider their ticket pricing policy – £40 for a family of 4, or around £12 for a single adult!!! I would think that 15000 people taking advantage of free access tells you how many consider the entrance fee prohibitive. Great attraction, but priced well beyond the means of many islanders and visitors.
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Jub, what planet are you on? Do you really think the high-price of the entrance fee is fair to the local population?
I agree that the fee goes to the good cause Durrell do world-wide but for them to charge the same price on the door all year round is wrong.
Puzzled-again has the correct case, Durrell should reduce the prices off-season (ie Autumn – early spring ) then the amount of locals going there would increase ten-fold .
Put it this way… if they charged £15 for a family of 4 then on average they would probably go 2 or 3 times during that period as opposed to just once when the summer arrived – therefore thinking they’d “got a deal” they would spend more in the cafe & gift shop(where the profit margin is ahem, “high” ) & Durrell therefore would be in a better financial position than they are now (ie just the few tourists Jersey gets go there…)
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I agree with No2, we live in France and due to my husbands work schedule we were all in Jersey the weekend before. Atrip to the zoo for two adults one child and a baby with food from the restaurant well over £50.00, it does not encourage me to go back to the zoo anytime soon.
And yes I know we could have taken a picinc etc, but it was a spur of the moment,idea which blitz the pocket!
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3. Get real Jersey!! – Get real. Why shouldn’t Durrell charge the same price all year round. I’m sure the animals don’t eat less in the winter or the staff take a pay cut. The overheads are the same both winter and summer. Durrell offer a membership scheme that is extremely good value for money. This scheme is very fair to the local population. If more local residents took advantage of this they could visit the park 364 days a year and not all have to try and cram in on one free day. Also if fewer people tried defrauding the charity by abusing the membership scheme and using other member’s cards to gain entry for free, Durrell would have more money to continue their important conservation work.
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I wonder if they had asked for a voluntary donation for the day, how much they would have made… I wonder if everyone had given a pound if they had made more on that day than they do in a week in admittance fees. Or how many memberships they sold on that day. I loved seeing the zoo so busy, and the animals were so much livelier!
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I am a little puzzled by the constant stream of comments regarding the high cost of entry to Jersey’s attractions.
Over the past few years, I have visited The Royal Yacht in Edinburugh, Edinburugh Castle, Blackpool Tower, Cadbury World, The Grande Aquarium at St Malo, and various French Zoos and the entry fees are on a par with thouse charged by Durrell.
Entry fees of between £12 and £15 seem to be the norm.
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Durrell is no more expensive than any other Zoo. The bst value for money is to become a member – see hyperlink – (http://www.durrell.org/Get-Involved/Become-a-Member/) – £2.00 per week for a local family to visit durrell as many times in a year as they may wish is extreemely good value for money!
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We went to the zoo last weekend. We have a membership, but, like many other people I know, went on that particular day because we knew it was going to be a great occasion. And it was, we didn’t see many animals but the atmosphere was great and we contibuted to the many things that were going on. including lots of the fund raisers.
Well done to Durrell for putting on a great day.
Jub, it sounds as if you are only prepared to go if you are going to get value for money. With some people it’s all take take take! Shame.
Thank goodness there were 15,000 who were willing to turn out and support a very worthy cause.
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I was there on Sunday.
It amazed me people are allowed to smoke in the park.
Imagine the devestation caused by a tossed cigarette butt!
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HobGoblin….. that fact of the staff wages & feed is true BUT the main effort in the dull,rainy Autumns-Early spring days is getting “footfall” – ie how many feet (therefore £££) they can accumalate through the gate. Don’t you realise that “Jersey family” would rather wait till summer & pay the “high price” when its sunny rather than dull? Therefore, a reduced entrance fee in those “off-months” would accumalte more families going to the zoo, bringing in more income.
Profit margins don’t have to be “full mark-up” all the time…!!!
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Bean all over,
15,000 freeloaders wondering around the zoo is not exactly my idea of support. I suspect they caused quite a bit of damage to the zoo and therefore cost it a bit of money.
I doubt many of these freeloaders would have spent any money in the café when they saw the prices so would have therefore contributed nothing to the Zoo’s running.
Please justify how this is considered as supporting a worthy cause?
The zoo should have at least charged a small fee of £2 a person to at least cover the costs of the day; this would have been a very acceptable price.
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Durrel offered a free day – so people went on the basis that it was free. They are not cheapskates nor shirkers as many rich locals suggest, they merely accepted an offer that Durrell made them. Simple law of contract offer & acceptance. This is a completely pointless debate, why not put the time spent into this debate into working for Durrell?
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Jersey – why is there always moaning when there is so miuch good to appreciate and the amazing facilities that we do have, like Durrell and Heritage?
Also serious lessons are needed in maths and budgetting no surprise the CAB are having record enquiries.
Jersey family membership = £100 (unlimited access all year) Family of 2 adults and 3 children (aged 4-17) you would only need 2 visits for this to pay for itself.
UK family membership = £50 (unlimited access all year)If you are on a 2 week holiday or come and visit relatives a lot it would be worth your while buying this instead of one visit to the Trust.
Families are invariably going to visit it more because it is such a great facility for kids and with a membership card it is a no brainer.
For single membership you only need to visit 3 times for it to pay for itself and if you have an interest in the Trust and enjoying visiting the facility then again a bonus.
You can pay by direct debit so you can stagger your payments and therefore better cashflow.
Same with Heritage very cost effective if you use the facilities regulary.
Just for the record I have no involvement with either organisation apert from holding a membership card for both, enjoy the fantastic facilites these two organisations provide and I can obviously work out a good deal.
The more worrying aspect of this article is just how many people turned up that are probably not members and are not appreciating what is on their doorstep. I hope the Trust used to the day to promote the membership.
That said I would advocate them looking after the members a little bit better and a members fast queue would be of benefit rather than having to wait in a long queue of tourists who are having difficulty with the language and money and asking questions about the facility when loads of Trust staff are hanging around but only one till open and although you show your card you are made to queue while they stand around chatting watching you queue. Apart from that aspect I think they are great.
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Twelve pounds each for what “isnt” even a zoo qualifies as a tad expensive to me.
As usual in Jersey businessess rip the back seat out of it, sufice to say that six pounds each would be more realistic in the current climate.
I also understand that the Gorillas eat nothing but “organic” fruit & vegetables which ordinary folk have to do without, hence the exorbidant entry fees.
Surely if we humans can survive without organic, what is the justification to give it to Gorillas???
Seems a little unfair when two thirds of the world are starving to death.
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Um its not a zoo which implies the animals are on show, it is a wildlife conservation trust, It may be pricey but who can put a price on saving a species from extinstion. if anyone needs to lower thier price it is the cafe! that is a rip off! my gran could make a better spread for half the cost!
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#15
My understanding is that Durell grow most of their own food and the reason it is organic is that they use faeces collected from the animals as fertiliser. Sounds sensible to me. Did you think they went to M&S?!
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Who can put a price on saving a childs life from starvation. Im a bit tired of do gooders saving the icebergs, polar bears or whatever,yet they dont address saving themselves first.
Theres nothing logical in putting Gorillas before people. Even in Britain you hear of people dying of hyperthermia in the winter due to a lack of money.
The Gorillas should be protected along with other species in there natural habitat, not put in some complex for people to gape at them.
Im sure if the Meerkats had voices they would have much rather been in there natural habitat than being observed by Terry le suer.
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Mike, you clearly do not know what the term “endangered species” means, given your statement “Gorillas should be protected along with other species in their natural habitat”.
For the record, human beings aren’t an endangered species!
You also clearly do not care whether or not the children of today’s children grow up not even knowing what a gorilla is.
Your next statement “There’s nothing logical in putting Gorillas before people” is just why such establishments exist. It is your mentality and those of the same ilk which have instrumented their existence.
As for the Meerkats, I am pretty much sure that they are very, very happy in their protected environment – not having to deal with predators and living a naturally social life – they are very gregarious and just love interaction, hence their new home near the restaurant!
On the subject of organic – maybe all those big macs have made you oblivious to the fact that for optimum health and reproduction, they are by far better than GM modified foods.
Finally, if Durrell saw it fit to have a 50th birthday bash, so be it – I am sure they were more interested in raising awareness than campaigning for your opinion.
PS. I am sure if it was your head in the bubble, rather than Terry’s, they wouldn’t have even known the difference!
Now go hug a tree….
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I agree with Pandora. I can’t say I’m an animal lover really but on a nice day the ‘zoo’ is lovely to walk around and there is always something different to see (what with animals mating and birthing at different times of year). I also think the meerkats seem to love their enclosure, they are clearly very curious little beings and are quick to come up to the glass to see the visitors.
I do believe the zoo should consider slightly lower entrance fees in winter as it may pull in enough people to make it beneficial, if they don’t try… After all, they get 50% of the profits from the restaurant, which must presumably run at a loss for much of the winter with only staff to feed. Lower entry fee might encourage people to enjoy a long lunch in beautiful surroundings, Durrell still benefit.
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The reason most animals are in zoos is because humans are destroying their habitats – cutting down rainforests, etc. Some animals cannot be re-introduced into the wild as humans have destroyed all thier habitat.
The sole cause of every problem in the world is human overpopulation – seas being destroyed by pollution and over fishing, global warming, etc. (think of the degredation of Jersey since our population has got so large)
Until humans stop breeding as such a rate they will wipe out all other animals and then the human race will die off due to starvation and lack of water.
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“Even in Britain you hear of people dying of hyperthermia in the winter due to a lack of money.”
If they are dying of “Hyperthermia” itis probably not due to lack of money – with energy prices as they are.
More likely, they need to chill out!
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If i may defend myself,Pandoras remarks clearly show the basic level on which some rely on.
Sarcasam after all is the lowest form of wit.
I do not eat Big macs as you are implying and if you enjoy the Gorillas company so much,why not join them in there enclosure and entertain them with your wisdom that animals are better than people.Im sure they would be enthralled by your superior intelect.
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Mike,
Prehaps if certain people/peoples just stopped trying to live in areas that simply can’t support the amount of human life trying to live there we wouldn’t have world hunger!
You seem to care a lot about people on the earth and not the environment or animals in it.
The zoo’s prices are absolutely fine, I throw up more money after a Saturday night than a trip to the zoo. We should be proud and supportive of this great place and the things it does.
I think people need to stop and think what money they waste before commenting on a the mighty price of £10!
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Mike, please accept my apologies on the Big Mac assumption (even I should know better than to assume!)
However, you have still missed my point.
Basically, there is this thing called the circle of life – we would not be able to survive as a species if it were not for all the animals and plants on this planet. By ensuring their wellbeing, we ensure our own – without them we would not exist.
The work these institutions do ensures the continuation of many primary and endangered species which, in turn, ensures the balance of our natural world and our existence.
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Apology accepted! However when anyone mentions the circle of life it conjures up images of Elton john & the lion king.
Again “someone” is assuming that i dont give a monkeys about animals & the enviroment,i never said such a thing & am being taken out of context.
My final word on the matter is to preserve the human race and at the same time learn to respect the enviroment & its animal kingdom without the need to necesitate its continuous exploitation.
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I was disappointed by Durrells. I went on a full paying day – all I saw were a few gorillas, orangutang, meerkats & flamingoes – hardly a great collection!!!
Most of the unclosures were overgrown and shabby.
I thought the operation was amateur and nothing to write home about.
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Firstly; Durrell day was not a fundraising day but a thank you to islanders for supporting the organisation for 50years, a small fee may have turned people away and then they would have missed out on the fabulous atmosphere the day provided! There were plenty of donation boxes around so people could contribute if they wanted to!
Secondly; don’t complain about the prices, as previously stated the entry prices are on par with other attractions throughout the UK and Jersey. Also the membership schemes offer very good value for money and allow you to visit any time of the year, for the whole day or even half an hour after school – or the new late night openings!
Thirdly; Durrell grow much of their fruit and veg on site at the “organic farm” saving them between £30 – 40, 000 a year! I don’t see how one can then make rude and inaccurate statements about “gorillas only eating organic food”!!!
Finally; the enclosures are not overgrown and shabby, the enclosures are designed in the interest of the animals – not the public! You could clear back alot of vegetation so the public could see better, but then what would the monkeys climb on?! Durrell isn’t about having a good collection; its about conservation work with endangered species
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I personally think the entrance fees are very high, however, I bought my son a Dodo membership and my parents an OAP membership each. A lovely gift idea and with my own member + guest pass, we all meet at the zoo regularly.
No I don’t work for Durrell, but it really did solve gift ideas for my parents/family who get so much enjoyment out of this.
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MK2G. Thank you very much for you very informative post.
I have read some of the other comments posted and am completely stunned. Mike and ‘God’s mentor’ would have us back to animals pacing around in cages for people to gawp up.
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The suggestion that Durrell cut the entrance fee during the quiet months is very sensible. Of course it costs the same to feed the animals and overheads in the winter may even be higher as I guess some or all of the enclosures need some kind of heating.
The current admission fee which is applicable all year round probably puts off alot of visitors during the quieter months meaning Durrell receive nothing or very little in income during that time. However cutting the admission fee say by 50% in the winter may attract a great deal more visitors who wouldn’t otherwise bother, thus leading to greater income for Durrell during the quieter times then they would ordinarily expect . It is simple economics
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“Most of the unclosures were overgrown and shabby.”
Thats keeping the enclosures in the animals natural habits I thought?
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