Coronavirus: we are temporarily closed

Following Government guidelines regarding coronavirus, we remain closed until further notice. The latest legislation amendment lists zoos in Stage 3 of the UK’s Covid-19 recovery strategy and we are therefore unable to open before early July. The next government review point, however, will take place on 18 June, so when we hear more, we’ll let you know. 

Planning is well underway to ensure when the national guidelines allow, we will open with the appropriate physical distancing and hygiene measures in place to provide the safest environment for you to enjoy our 140 acre zoo. As you cannot visit us just yet, please do remember to check our social channels and website for the latest updates. 

Every day the zoo is closed to guests, our need for your support grows. Please donate if you can to help us cover basic animal care costs such as feed and bedding. Every penny adds up and so does our gratitude, so thank you for your loyal support – we need you now more than ever.  For more info and to donate, click here.

What happens now?

We would like to reassure you that the health and welfare of the animals in our care will not be compromised by this decision. While our gates are closed to the public, we are focusing all our attentions and on-site staffing towards essential animal welfare only.

A team of committed and experienced keepers and vets remain on duty at Marwell Zoo, maintaining the same great levels of welfare the animals enjoy throughout the year while following a number of additional safety and social distancing procedures. A skeleton team are also still working behind the scenes to perform some necessary functions however, the majority of our zoo team are on the Government furlough scheme which has been a lifeline for us. As a result, until we have further information on re-opening, we regret that we will be unable to respond to general queries (by email, letter, phone or via social media). We are sorry we cannot respond, but we thank you for bearing with us at this difficult time.

Information for Members

We are always very grateful for the support we receive from our members and this is now vital more than ever. As you can’t visit us at the moment, all annual memberships have been temporarily suspended as of Monday 16 March 2020. Once we reopen the zoo, any lost time you had left will be added to your memberships. Alternatively, if you would like to donate this “time” to the zoo, instead of an extension, we would be extremely grateful, and it will support the ongoing care of our animals. For more information, we have updated our Members Corner here. Once, again, thank you for all your support – you mean the world to us!

Information for Guests

All tickets dated from 17 March 2020 onwards will automatically be extended until the 31 December 2020. There is no additional charge for this ticket upgrade, and you don’t need to contact us to make this change.

Information for animal experiences, photo days, sunset safaris and corporate events

All bookings are held and postponed at this time. Once we have a re-opening date, we will be in touch with every guest to re-book their experiences/event, in the order in which they booked.

How to keep in touch with the zoo

If you still want to see some of our amazing animals, then please check out our live webcams. Our live feeds allow you to watch our giraffes, penguins, black and white ruffed lemurs and flamingos – all from the comfort of your sofa!

As you cannot visit us, remember to check out our social channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) for daily updates and all the latest information from the zoo. We won’t be sending out our regular News Bites, but we will do our utmost to bring you positive news and posts to make you smile throughout this difficult time.

Learning resources and activity packs

We offer free downloadable education resources and activity sheets available from the ‘Education’ section of our website. Click on the ‘FREE RESOURCES’ tab.

All our printable support materials are linked to the national curriculum and are specifically designed for a variety of ages. You can choose from a selection of engaging learning activities for all key stages (from EYFS to A-Level). Whether you want to learn more about our amazing animals, their adaptations or conservation – we have it all!

Need extra support? Check out the SEN resources which have been specifically created to support those with Special Educational Needs.