More money to protect nature

Since 2016, the zoological garden and the botanical park of Ostrava have been involved in “one koruna from every ticket”, an international system of support for rescue projects. During that time, the system has supported 15 different projects, contributing more than CZK 1 million. From now on, the Zoo will contribute not one, but two koruna from each visitor’s ticket. The decision was made by the Ostrava City Assembly in late September.

The purpose of the “koruna from every ticket” system is that every visitor visiting the Zoological Garden and the Botanical Park Ostrava pays a certain amount into a special account that is exclusively used to support projects dedicated to the rescue and protection of endangered animal and plant species in the wild, both in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the world. So far, it has been one koruna from every ticket. The Ostrava Zoo has thus raised CZK 1,014.000 from tickets. In the first year it was CZK 518,000, which were divided among eleven conservation projects; in the second year it was CZK 496 thousand, which were used for thirteen projects.

In late September, the City Assembly approved an increase of the contribution to two koruna from each ticket. From November 2018, the contribution to nature conservation will thus double! The increased contribution will not only lead to significantly higher on-site assistance for selected conservation and rescue projects, but will also allow for greater publicity and promotion not only of Zoo Ostrava but also of the City of Ostrava and the whole Czech Republic on an international scale. This will also strengthen the status of Zoo Ostrava among the most modern zoos in the world that actively seek not only to ensure the survival of endangered animal species within international rescue breeding programmes in human care but also help animals and people right in their homeland.