In November 2010, Guiyang decided to invest 10 million yuan to Qianling Mountain Zoo animal cages, roads and other infrastructure renovation. This initiative to Guiyang people's attention to this old place, "bleak" for a long time, the zoo where to go, and caused the attention of Guiyang people.
Qianling Mountain Zoo crisis
Beyond Qianling Mountain Park, the city is rapidly changing, radical changes are occurring, the scenery is no longer the zoo is old from the public's field of vision gradually faded out. The scene has remained unchanged for many years, making many old Guiyang people quite sad and worried: "Sooner or later this will close."
From the prosperity of the past down to today's lonesome, decades, the zoo has experienced what changes?
"So many years, the zoo received the largest government investment in the early 1990s, 1 million yuan to build a new lion and tiger hall, remodeling sewage and other infrastructure. Since then for many years, spent on the introduction of animals on the special funds not more than 100,000 yuan. 2000 years later, the application for funding is even more limited, the zoo not only for many years without money to paint the cages, but also can only be through the exchange of animals with other zoos to receive new animals." He Minghui, head of Qianling Mountain Park, said.
The zoo covers an area of more than 40 acres and has about 40 species and more than 200 (head) animals. If you want to make an analogy, then Qianling Mountain Zoo is only equivalent to Shanghai, Beijing and other first-class city zoo the size of a veterinary hospital, and animal "grade" than Zunyi, ShuiCheng and other neighboring cities zoo are lower.
Relying on government and financial allocations for the urgent need to develop the zoo is "a drop in the bucket", the funding gap has led to the loss of talent and the inability to build a complete set of scientific animal husbandry, breeding, exchange and introduction of the model.
"If we didn't have an affection for animals, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to support it." Wu Zhongrong, a technician at the zoo, said that when the zoo was in its heyday, there were more than 40 workers on the job. And now she and three other technicians who have been working for more than a decade are almost the entire technical force of the zoo. Over the years, keepers and cleaners hired on a temporary basis have come and gone because wages are too low. In their understaffed day-to-day jobs, the four technicians work as veterinarians and maintenance workers, as well as keepers and cleaners.
"Chicken ribs" status quo hope to improve
In 2006, the private nature of the Guiyang Forest Safari Park in Xiuwen County Zazuo Park, a rich variety of animal species attracted a large number of people to visit the tour. Qianling Mountain Zoo has also entered an unprecedented awkward situation.
Qianling Mountain Zoo is in disrepair, but Guiyang Forest Safari Park is gaining popularity. Since the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding a female and male pandas arrived since the building, the number of tourists rose dramatically, the average daily reception of tourists in more than 10,000 people. In addition to local tourists in Guiyang, the province Tongzi, Kaili, Bijie and other places and out of the province tourists have come, only the Dragon Boat Festival holiday to receive tourists 35,000 people. In the "June 1" International Children's Day, the Forest Safari Park **** received nearly 20,000 tourists, a record high reception since the establishment of the park.
"Qianling Mountain Park in the city, the transportation is convenient, cheap tickets, go here to see the animals is of course the best choice. But the content of the zoo is too little, a lot of cages are empty, no fun. Or would rather spend one or two hundred dollars more to go to Zazo to see a comfortable." Ms. Zhao, a member of the public, said. But Mr. Pi, a migrant worker from Longli, said, "Even if you are willing to spend half a month's hard-earned money to take your family to Zazo to see the animals, you can see them once a year at most." During the holidays, take the family to spend 20 to 30 dollars, climb Qianling Mountain, stroll around the zoo, is definitely the most affordable happiness.
October 2010, the State Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued "on further strengthening the management of the zoo's views", the views pointed out that "the zoo is an important part of the public welfare undertakings of society," with science education, scientific research, animal breeding and protection, recreation and other functions, requiring localities to increase investment, to ensure the sustainable development of the zoo. To ensure the sustainable development of zoos.
In November, the Guiyang municipal government decided to invest 10 million yuan in the lion and tiger museum, primate museum, herbivore area cages and part of the road and other transformation. The next step will reportedly be to invest in the introduction of animals. The good news, which has been awaited for years, has made several veterans working at the zoo rejoice.
But some people are questioning, Qianling Mountain Zoo back of the 'debt' is too much, bold transformation needs to spend a lot of effort, need to rely on policy, funding, mechanisms, talent, a full range of cooperation. more than 10 million yuan of funds for the long-term development of a city zoo is stretched, I'm afraid it is difficult to completely! Reverse Guiyang public welfare zoo food tasteless, abandoned the "chicken rib" status quo.
Qianling Mountain Zoo reasons
Qianling Mountain Zoo as one of Guiyang's urban window, has lagged behind Guiyang's urban development. Originally, the city zoo as a public welfare and scientific research institutions, enjoy the government's financial allocations, and not worried about the survival of the problem. But in fact, Qianling Mountain Zoo is facing the test of survival and development. People believe that the zoo's obsolescence and aging is due to a variety of reasons, including the aging of the system, innovation is not enough, the impact of private large-scale purely commercial safari parks and so on. However, the government investment is low is the main reason.
Own reasons: rigid mechanism, difficult to reform
City zoo is a public welfare units, due to institutional reasons, decided that it can not independently engage in projects to generate income, can not decide on their own ticket prices, but also do not dare to liberalize the business. Coupled with a poor sense of innovation, which puts the zoo in an awkward situation of not enough to eat or starve. In terms of personnel system, because the zoo is decades old unit, to change is not easy.
Qianling Mountain Zoo development is not up, there is another problem, the zoo as part of the Qianling Mountain Park, under the Qianling Mountain Park rather than Guiyang City Garden Bureau, so there is no administrative, financial dominance. Therefore, Qianling Mountain Zoo is not a professional zoo (professional zoo does not mean that the area is large, but from the administrative, scientific research to compare, such as the province of Zunyi Zoo is a professional zoo).
Institutional limitations, but also let the zoo brain drain has become a common phenomenon. Especially with the increase in commercial safari parks, some experienced keepers or more specialized talents are wildlife parks to dig out at high salaries.
Government funding: 300,000 yuan a year, "not enough for the animals to eat"
Qianling Mountain Zoo is a public welfare nature, the government should give appropriate subsidies. Since 1992, the government will be allocated 300,000 yuan a year for animal feed, nearly two decades past, prices have risen several times, but the funding is still these, has been far from enough to meet the zoo's expenses. A city zoo to develop, it is very important to continue to introduce and cultivate new animal species, but now the money is not enough for animals to eat, not to mention the introduction of species.
From 2000, the zoo canceled the ticket, the zoo's 3 yuan ticket is included in the entire Qianling Mountain Park ticket, and the park's annual ticket revenue can only maintain a balance of payments, to update equipment, the introduction of new animals need a large sum of money, but the government allocated the feed fee is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket. As the financial gap is widening, Qianling Mountain Park in the system allows the scope of the park's commercial business point out by the company or individual contract, with this stable income, and then allocate a portion of it to the zoo.
Qianling Mountain Park in 2008, tickets and other operating income of about 20 million yuan, the entire park, including the zoo staff wages, spent more than 10 million yuan. The rest of the expenses are first paid up to 1.5 million yuan to the Forestry and Greening Bureau, which then returns 300,000 yuan, earmarked for the zoo. On top of that, all of the zoo's expenses come from the park. In 2008 alone, the park allocated 3 million dollars to the zoo, including animal feeding fees, disease control fees, cage maintenance fees, and so on. The rest of the revenue is barely enough to cover normal day-to-day expenses, let alone undertake any major improvements or construction projects.
In terms of government funding, zoos in neighboring cities are much more generous. The Chengdu Zoo's regular annual funding is about 9 million yuan, mainly for animal feed, labor costs, infrastructure maintenance and other aspects. There are also separate special funds if animal cages or other are to be built.
External challenge: commercial safari parks seize the market
Compared with other cities, Guiyang Safari Park on Qianling Mountain Zoo has a certain impact, but not yet obvious. The improvement of people's living standards for recreation and entertainment put forward higher requirements, if the facilities are no longer improved, the animal species no longer increase, not actively self-financing development, can only "look at the park sighs", and finally disappeared. Located in the Guiyang Forest Safari in Xiuwen, the environment is quiet, rich in species, both "young" and dynamic, snatched a lot of high-end consumers who love animals.
The animals in the safari park are semi-free-ranging; the free-ranging animals have more varieties and larger populations, which makes the scene more spectacular and more ornamental; since it is a new zoo, the design and facilities are better; the performance level is high and interesting, and it is easy to mobilize the interest of tourists. These factors are Qianling Mountain Zoo is not as good, so since its opening, the number of visitors is rising.
Different from the city zoo, the forest safari due to Xiwen County's investment projects, in addition to the local government in the early days of 2005 to get a certain amount of financial support, largely on their own to solve the problem of funding constraints. In order to alleviate the financial pressure, the zoo through the community to carry out animal adoption activities, animal exchange with other zoos, in the park to sell animal food and other ways to effectively solve part of the funding.
In the market economy, the competition among the zoo industry is the competition of culture, the essence of which is the competition of cultural power. The original and new zoos without their own cultural characteristics, relying only on the introduction of animal species and imitating the new projects of other zoos, have a great possibility of being outdated and unsuccessful.
Renovation project officially started
March 20, 2012, Qianling Mountain Park environmental improvement (zoo) project officially started construction. The renovation investment of more than 10 million yuan, the main project is: will be in the original park depth, respectively, the construction of beasts of burden, bird garden and herbivore garden and reptile garden, will be classified and centralized, increase the area of cages, take the open-air natural lighting, glass instead of steel pen captive animals, to provide animals with a more close to the natural living environment, the ornamental effect will be greatly enhanced.
The zoo's new animal cages and maintenance area of 7,835 square meters, including the Bird Park, primate area, fierce animal area. The area of the remodeled entrance showroom and lion and tiger pavilion is 995 square meters. In addition, in order to let the animals in the park have a quiet living environment, after the remodeling, the original set of children's play facilities will be removed and no longer set up. While the old zoo park area of 2,445 square meters, the area of this new area will be 3 old park large. The project is expected to be completed in late September, reopened during the National Day.