New Look Sanctuary Opens Gates on 28th March
On the 28th of March 2010, the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary will be opening its gates to visitors for the special price of just £1 to mark the beginning of the 2010 open season for this long-established tourist attraction, which has been running since 1964.
Work has been carried out over the closed season to improve the site and provide more information and services to visitors to this working sanctuary for rescued ex-pet monkeys. Says Liz Tyson, PR and Communications Manager for the parent charity, Wild Futures:
“We have improved the site significantly this winter, with beautiful new signage and interpretation, as well as offering more to do for children, more places to relax, reflect and enjoy our unique setting, as well as adapting our award-winning café to provide more space to enjoy the home-cooked food on offer. Our visitor feedback has always been positive but we are keen to really step up this season; with the country coming out of recession but people still having to watch the pennies, we want to be able to offer a great value, fun-filled day out here in the UK.
Being a working sanctuary, we have to strike the balance between prioritising high levels of care and welfare and showing people what it is to run a rescue centre such as ours, with making sure that visitors have a wonderful and memorable day out. Parts of our site are out-of-bounds for the general public as we have some monkeys who have had sad and traumatic starts to life and they simply don’t cope with large crowds, but we make sure we always have staff on hand to answer any questions and give informative talks and presentations about our work so that our visitors understand what we do and why we do it”.
She went on to remind potential visitors that the sanctuary is part of a charity and that every penny is put to good use in caring for monkeys and in other conservation projects, both in the UK and abroad.
She added:
“We always start the season with an open day with reduced entry – this year just £1, as a thank you to our supporters. Of course, as with all the income we receive, 100% goes towards funding our charitable work so a visit to us makes a real difference to our organisation”.
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Notes to Editors
The Monkey Sanctuary Information
Telephone: 01503 262 532
Opening Times:
11.00am – 4.30pm every Sunday – Thursday (closed Friday and Saturday)
From 28th March – 30th September 2010 (plus October half-term)
2010 prices:
Adult – 7.50
Child (under 16 years) – 3.50
Concession – 5.00
Family ticket – 20.00
Under 5’s go free
First entry entitles visitors to one year membership to The Monkey Sanctuary, including unlimited free re-entry.
Wild Futures (Charity reg. No. 1102532) is an educational and environmental charity promoting the welfare and conservation of primates, and working to end the abuses of primates in captivity. Its flagship project, The Monkey Sanctuary, in Cornwall, is home to victims of the primate pet trade. Drawing on over 40 years of primate expertise, Wild Futures acts as an advisory body to sanctuaries and conservation organisations in the UK and overseas and advises DEFRA on UK animal welfare legislation.
For more information or further pictures contact:
Liz Tyson, Public Relations and Communication Manager
+44 (0) 1503 262 532