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You are here > Visitor Info > More Information > Wildwood Escot braces for another lockdown

Wildwood Escot braces for another lockdown

3rd November 2020

Categories: Visitor News

The wildlife park will be closing its gates from Wednesday 4 November in line with the latest Government restrictions.

Wildwood Escot, part of the Wildwood Trust Charity, is a much-loved wildlife park and conservation centre near Ottery St Mary is going through the process of lockdown again, with doors closing to the public at 4:00pm on Wednesday 4 November.

They will remain closed until Wednesday 2 December at the earliest, a painful blow for the Devon attraction, which faces another month with very limited funding.

The last lockdown cost Wildwood Trust around £400,000 in lost income and was a huge blow to the charity.

Despite the lockdown Wildwood Escot must continue to care for its extensive animal collection whilst maintaining its important conservation work.

George Hyde, General Manager at Escot, said; “The welfare of the animals absolutely comes first and our dedicated team will continue to care for them despite the restrictions in place. We got through the last national lockdown thanks to the generous support of our loyal members and visitors and sincerely hope they’ll come through for us again.”

Since reopening in June, Wildwood Escot has welcomed thousands of visitors to enjoy the Park in a safe and covid-secure way having received the “Good to Go” certification from the Visit Britain scheme.

Important wildlife conservation work

A key part of Wildwood Escot’s work revolves around the conservation of native British species such as red squirrels, dormice and wildcats.

“Nature and wildlife are facing rapid declines and we can’t stop our important work during lockdown. Our conservation efforts are about bringing back species that are, in some cases, on the brink of extinction. Saving species from the edge can’t be put on hold for a month so we will continue to do whatever we can. George concludes.

Wildwood Escot is asking anyone who would like to help the animals during lockdown to contribute via its website here: https://wildwoodtrust.org/civicrm/contribute/transact/?id=10&reset=1

The Park will keep its followers and supporters updated on its website and visitors who have booked tickets will be updated personally.