Saxony-Anhalt's largest wildlife park would celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. However, the signs point to an end for the facility in the Altmark. The money for continued operation is not enough, specialist staff has left.
Tangerhütte/Weißewarte (dpa/sa) - The Weissewarte wildlife park (Stendal district) is threatened with final closure. At a special meeting on Monday evening, the city council of Tangerhütte instructed Mayor Andreas Brohm (independent) to look for a new operator. If there is no interested party by November 11th and a contract is not signed by November 14th, the facility will be closed and the animal population eliminated.
The process will take around a year and cost around 105,000 euros. That's money the municipality doesn't actually have. It is in consolidation. "We are responsible," said the mayor. This issue is therefore inevitable. Brohm hopes that a new operator will be found who will keep the 15-hectare site. Various possible uses are conceivable. However, continued operation in its current form, as a zoological facility with a large number of animals, is unlikely.
At the end of September, the managing director of the non-profit operating company, which is solely supported by the Tangerhütte community, Victoria Alex, resigned. With her departure, a zoological specialist essential for the operating license and the supervising veterinarian are missing. Alex justified her step with the financial situation and a lack of support from the administration and city council.
The remaining trained animal keepers have now also submitted their resignation, as Brohm explained to the city council. This means that the planned limited continued operation is not possible until mid-December. The facility is expected to remain open to visitors until October 26th. The closure of the wildlife park involves filing for insolvency for the operating company, which will return the facility and the animals to the unified community of the city of Tangerhütte on the basis of the lease agreement.
Last year, disputes and problems in the wildlife park caused negative headlines. An operating association could not guarantee legally compliant management. The supervisory authority of the district of Stendal intervened because of significant deficiencies in animal welfare law. After a temporary closure, the specially founded non-profit operating company took over the wildlife park. An end was thus initially averted. After resolving the serious deficiencies, the district issued a provisional zoo permit, which was then extended indefinitely in mid-September.
The unified municipality of Tangerhütte, which is the sole sponsor of the company, granted a subsidy of 100,000 euros for this year. However, this sum and the entrance fees were not sufficient for adequate financing. The general cost increases, especially for energy and animal feed, also caused problems for the wildlife park. Visitor numbers went down.
