Your support means more to us now, than ever before

If you’re a long-time friend of Auckland Zoo, visitor or wildlife supporter from afar - thank you! You’ll know that it’s your Zoo visits and donations that are what help make our mission ‘to bring people together to build a future for wildlife’ possible.

COVID-19 has been incredibly tough for everyone; here and around the world. One of our top priorities during both New Zealand lockdowns has been to stay connected with and support our communities from their homes. Bringing the Zoo to everyone online- with our animal news and activities, videos, blogs, awesome educational resources for tamariki, teachers and parents - has enabled us all to continue to share and grow our love and support for wildlife and wild places.

Zoo director Kevin Buley says as part of Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA), a Council Controlled Organisation, Auckland Zoo has been able to provide the same high level of expert care and quality of life for its animals that it always provides whilst maintaining essential onsite operations. However, he says the Zoo has still been massively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Auckland Zoo is a not-for-profit organisation, with wildlife conservation science at the heart of everything we do. We rely heavily on the support of our community with approximately 60% of our revenue generated through entry fees – people’s visits. Despite the generous support of Auckland Council, we’ve had to reduce the scope of our operations and community programmes to ensure the ongoing care of species at the Zoo,” explains Buley.

Zoo support and donations are more important than ever “We are putting a lot of mahi into identifying potential new sources of revenue and financial support to maintain and grow our conservation efforts here in Aotearoa and overseas to continue to realise our mission to bring people together to build a future for wildlife.

Our message to our community is; “If you can purchase a ticket or annual pass and visit us during Alert Level 2 and later at Level 1 - this is by far the best way to support us. If you can’t – and love what we do as much as we do – then please consider donating towards our work.”

At this difficult time, alternative sources of revenue – such as donations and sponsorships – have never been more and important and we will continue to identify potential new sources of revenue and financial support to increase our conservation impact in New Zealand and overseas.  Find out how you can further support the Zoo and our mission through making a donation here.