Accidental Zoo closure comes as a surprise
THE animal charity The Accidental Zoo has announced its surprise closure after four years.
On Thursday evening it posted the news on Facebook, which led to an outpouring of thanks from grateful islanders and well-wishers.
Founder Charlotte Le Guilcher, who ran the charity from their family home in the Castel with husband Ryan, declined to comment further than the information on the post when contacted by the Guernsey Press yesterday.
On Facebook they said: ‘It is with a huge amount of sadness that we’re announcing the difficult decision has been made to close The Accidental Zoo.
‘The charity had a wonderful journey and touched many peoples’ lives for the better. We are grateful to have been able to connect people with the animals and the outdoors even if it was over a relatively short period of time, some really special things happened.
‘It has been an amazing community journey, bringing people together from all walks of life.’
Judging by its social media activity, the charity did appear to be winding down in recent months after a seemingly successful summer period.
An update posted in October that announced the suspension of services was followed by another earlier this month saying it would no longer be providing its Christmas tree collection service, this year or in the future.
Thursday’s post gained more than 500 reactions and about 100 comments in less than 24 hours, with many islanders recalling fond memories.
Local care home GreenAcres was one organisation that showed its support after benefiting from multiple private visits to the home and a trip to the zoo.
Friends of Greenacres director Richard Sallabank said the zoo brought something unique to Guernsey and the service helped many of residents in their struggles with dementia.
‘We’re very sad to see The Accidental Zoo close and the residents will sorely miss it. They loved the interaction with the animals,’ he said.
The Le Guilchers founded the zoo in 2019, and steadily grew its collection of animals to 200. It registered as a charity in 2021 to focus on delivering specific goals aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of islanders, and delivered thousands of hours of education.
It became an option for Bailiwick Social Prescribing to signpost volunteers towards and launched its own Wellbeing Matters programme to support islanders with their mental health.
The charity quickly became a staple of the community and thousands of islanders gathered to see its collection of animals ranging from pythons to praying mantises, emus to turkeys and even two leopard tortoises. Open days at the zoo were estimated to attract about 8,000 visitors a year.
The zoo was recognised by the Guernsey Community Foundation when it was shortlisted for the Innovation Award at the 2021 Community Awards.
