In Their Own Words
“Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation by attempting to sow self-doubt and confusion in someone’s mind. Typically, the aim is to distort reality and force people to question their own judgment and intuition.”
Until 2020, Bristol Zoological Society’s strategy was to retain and invest in both of its sites - Bristol Zoo Gardens and the Wild Place Project. As demonstrated below, numerous public statements made before 2020 exist where Bristol Zoological Society reaffirms its continuing success and value.
Positive Comments
AND THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED VERY SUDDENLY - WHY?…
Negative Comments
In 2020, Bristol Zoological Society said, “We do not believe the 12-acre Clifton site is fit for purpose as a modern, conservation focused Zoo.”
In 2020, Bristol Zoological Society said, “The challenges of recent years have had a highly detrimental impact on Bristol Zoological Society’s finances.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society applied to South Gloucestershire Council to have 41 acres of its 136-acre Wild Place site considered for a housing development for 410-825 housing units. In 2020, Bristol Zoological Society said, “The site was appraised for development potential by Savills (UK) Ltd in February 2019. This informed a strategic review of land identifying the potential for development opportunities.”
In 2020, Bristol Zoological Society said, “At 136 acres, Bristol Zoo Project will allow us to improve animal welfare and the visitor experience, creating larger exhibits that better reflect the animals’ natural habitats.” In 2025, they continue to use the 136-acre figure.
Bristol Zoological Society says Covid forced it to radically rethink its strategy. But for a Zoo which had been open for almost 200 years, survived two World Wars and welcomed 90 million visitors, was being closed for a few months and being compensated with a £2.5m insurance pay-out for its Covid losses enough to provoke such a radical rethink as to sell their core asset and Bristol’s Crown Jewels? Would we accept Clifton Suspension Bridge being permanently closed and sold down the river off the back of one KPMG report during a global pandemic? If the answer to this question is no, then what is the real motivation?
Would we just let the Suspension Bridge go?
In 2017, Bristol Zoological Society said, “Bristol Zoo Gardens has been one of Bristol’s top tourist attractions for more than 180 years and is of both cultural and historical importance as well as being a significant visitor attraction.”
In 2017, Bristol Zoological Society said, “BZS is a thriving and important charity. It is no surprise that Destination Bristol state that BZG are ‘one of the most critical elements of Bristol’s Visitor Economy’ and that ‘the success of BZG is a critical part of the success of Bristol’. The Zoo provides a reason to visit the city and stay for longer periods, and increase their dwell time, enjoying the wider amenities including shops, restaurants, hotels and evening entertainment etc.”
In 2017, Bristol Zoological Society said, “We are the most popular and most visited paid-for attraction in the city.....Bristol Zoo Gardens has been one of Bristol’s top tourist attractions for more than 180 years and is of both cultural and historical importance as well as being a significant visitor attractions for both families, groups, friends and couples. It has consistently been the most visited paid for attraction in the city attracting on average more than 500,000 visitors per year, and at times visitor numbers have exceeded the of the free attractions in the city. The success if Bristol Zoo Gardens is a critical part of the success of Bristol as one of the UK’s leading visitor destinations.“
In 2018, retiring Bristol Zoological Society Dr. Bryan Carroll said, “The amount of conservation, education that work we now do is infinitely more than it was before. [I’m proud of the] physical transformation of the Zoo, starting back in the 90’s when we created this magnificent Seal and Penguin Coast and have continued to develop the Zoo since. We’ve moved incredibly, such massive change. Bristol Zoo is a really special place [and] I never cease to get a buzz when I walk through the doors and feel myself in such a brilliant environment.”
In 2018, Bristol Zoo Garden’s official Zoo inspection report by DEFRA said, “[It is] rightly recognised as one of the leading zoological collections in the UK many of whom are endangered in their natural habitat. Bristol Zoological Society is involved in many meaningful and important conservation projects, designed to research, learn, educate and preserve biodiversity of wildlife on all continents of the globe. In particular, their conservation and education commitment and achievements are applauded. The inspection team were delighted to have the opportunity to visit this great well managed collection, who through their good work, achieve a great deal to preserve biodiversity of wildlife populations, as well as inspiring and educating the public (young and old) in the marvels of the natural world.
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “Across our two sites we remain one of the most popular zoos in the UK.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “We will develop Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place to be more distinct from each other through the delivery of a bold and compelling new vision for Bristol Zoo Gardens.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “We are recognised as a leader in understanding and improving animal welfare among UK Zoos.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “Today, we participate in 93 European Association of Zoos and Aquaria conservation breeding programmes, of which 15 are coordinated by Bristol Zoological Society staff. We are actively growing the number of breeding programmes that use animals born or reared in captivity for restocking and re-establishing wild populations.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “The Society established a research department in 2006, and this has grown significantly to become our Field Conservation & Science department. We conduct evidence-based conservation and research across 14 projects in 10 countries on 4 continents working through 31 local partner organisations. Our scientific work is broad in scope and covers field conservation biology and ecology as well as many aspects of zoo biology, veterinary medicine and social science. We regularly host national and international conferences and between 2007 and 2017, we published 136 peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals and books, averaging 12.4 papers per annum. This puts us into the top 10 Zoos in Europe for peer-reviewed publications.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “The Society has engaged many millions of visitors since opening, and across our two sites we remain one of the most popular Zoos in the UK. Our visitors are our greatest potential source of conservation action.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “The Society’s two Zoos are often held up as exemplars of education in zoos, and we have won numerous awards for our education sessions. In 1999 the purpose-built Conservation Education Centre was opened to support the delivery of programmes for schoolchildren, and our Institute of Conservation Science and Learning opened in 2015 to enable the delivery of higher education programmes.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “At both Bristol Zoo Gardens and Wild Place, we are the fortunate custodians of much valued built assets and historic landscapes, full of rich diversity that we must continue to cherish. We maintain many different habitats that hold great amenity value, across both our zoos, which we must protect for our visitors and future generations as the world develops around us.”
In 2019, Bristol Zoological Society said, “The increase in [our] profitability of £2.5m is due to increases in visitor income, decreases in costs and gains on investments, investment properties and the actuarial pension scheme.”