Zoo Kaiserslautern: Looking for financial support

Zoo Kaiserslautern: Looking for financial support

The Zoo Kaiserslautern, a popular attraction in the region, fights with financial difficulties. High personnel costs and rising construction prices are significantly increasing to the zoo. However, zoo director Matthias Schmitt shows that the number of visitors is fortunately above expectations: instead of the estimated 10,500 guests, the zoo already recorded 10,900. However, this positive development brings with it new challenges, because investments in the infrastructure are indispensable for the ongoing visitor loyalty.

"Our visitors want to see more than just animal enclosures. Playgrounds and gastronomy are also in demand," said Schmitt. Therefore, the zoo plans to expand the offer for children with a new petting enclosure directly at the playground. These improvements are often only possible through self -initiative and the active support of the existing staff, because external companies can only afford the zoo due to budget restrictions in certain cases.

investments and challenges

The zoo has invested more than 1.2 million euros in modernization measures for about ten years. An example of the incessant urge to change is the new walk -in monkey system, which offers a home from the Kattas, a type of lemur from Madagascar. "This achievement would not have been possible without the commitment of our employees," emphasizes Schmitt proudly, while he also indicates the critical point of increasing personnel costs. 23 permanent employees and numerous temporary workers are currently working on around seven hectares. Despite these efforts, the concern for the shortage of skilled workers, which does not keep up before animal care, remains.

The city of Kaiserslautern, which supports the zoo annually with 900,000 euros annually, has now signaled that it is ready to increase this amount by 100,000 euros after Schmitt has brought up the financial problems in the environmental committee. "This is a strong signal and shows the city's commitment to our zoo," says the zoo director. Whether this will actually be included in the 2024 budget depends on the approval of the Supervisory and Service Directorate (ADD) in Trier, which ultimately has to approve the urban budget.

In a statement by the ADD on the financial support, it was emphasized that expenses for volunteers - which include the operation of a zoo - often have to be compensated for in times of tense budget. The final decision may not be made until November, when the budget draft is submitted.

opening times and admission prices

In order to continue to raise the attractiveness for visitors, the opening times of the zoo are extended in the summer months from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Admission prices are set at 10.50 euros for adults and 7.50 euros for children in order to make access easier as possible and to further increase the number of visitors.

Overall, the situation of the Kaiserslautern Zoo remains tense. The struggle for finances is characterized by the need to improve the offers to keep visitors and at the same time to cover the running costs. The coming months could be crucial for how to proceed with the zoo.