Orana Wildlife Park may have to close if it cannot raise $4.1 million, board co chair Ken Hughey has told Chris Lynch Media, with cash reserves forecast to run out in March 2027.

He said Orana remains open and is operating as normal, with no decision made about its future.

Asked what happens if the money does not come in, Hughey said the board had plans B, C and D.

“We’ll look at the other options as we go forward from that point, and if that is the case, well, there will be options down the line, and one of those may well be closure,” he said.

Hughey said he did not regard closure as a genuine possibility at this stage, but accepted it could become one in future.

Orana opened in 1976 and covers 80 hectares at McLeans Island, about 15 minutes from Christchurch Airport.

It is home to more than 1000 animals across more than 90 species, including Sumatran tigers, white rhinoceros, cheetah and the country’s only gorillas and addax.

It is also the only major zoo in New Zealand not owned and run by local government.

The trust generates most of its income from visitors and attracts about 200,000 people a year.

The gap

The park needs about $4.1 million in the 2026 and 2027 financial year to secure its immediate future and is already drawing on reserves.

The board wants roughly $1 million raised by the end of October, which Hughey said would extend the park’s financial runway.

A fundraising and partnerships manager has been appointed.

The trust has held what Ken describes as initial and constructive discussions with Christchurch City Council.

Hughey said he had also met central government, which had been looking at other funding avenues the park could pursue.

He would not say how much the council had been asked for, only that the request was well short of the full shortfall.

“Council is a key partner, but Orana can’t ask Council to solve this alone,” he said.

The board commissioned BDO Christchurch to independently assess the 2026 and 2027 budget.

It confirmed the shortfall, found the forecasts credible and revenue assumptions realistic, and found Orana’s costs broadly comparable with other zoos.

BDO also found further cost reductions would not resolve the underlying problem and that commercial growth alone could not close the gap.

Council funding, grants and donations made up 57 percent of Wellington Zoo’s revenue in 2025.

At Orana, the equivalent figure is 23 percent.

Orana’s latest filed accounts show income of about $4.75 million against expenditure of about $6.1 million, a gap of roughly $1.34 million in a single year, after a broadly balanced 2024.

Why the park says it cannot cut its way out

Chief executive Rachel Haydon said zoos carry high fixed costs and year round responsibilities.

“You cannot mothball a giraffe or pause the care of a gorilla while waiting for revenue and visitation to improve,” Haydon said.

Hughey said job losses, reduced hours and animal transfers were not realistic options.

Staffing ratios for dangerous animals such as rhinos, lions and gorillas are fixed in much the same way class sizes are for schools, he said, while moving animals was not straightforward.

“It’s probably fair to say that other zoos will not want our gorillas. They’re very expensive to house, so they would be very difficult to ship,” he said.

How Orana got here

The financial crisis follows two years of reviews and organisational upheaval.

Concerns raised by current and former staff in 2024 triggered scrutiny of animal welfare, the reporting of animal deaths, workplace culture, staffing and leadership.

The Ministry for Primary Industries increased regulatory oversight, the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia launched an independent investigation in July that year, and the board commissioned its own workplace culture assessment.

The association’s report, delivered that December, required improvements across animal welfare processes, systems, health and safety, asset management and workplace culture.

A pause was placed on incoming animal transfers and breeding activity and lifted in August 2025 once the requirements were met.

No animal welfare issues were found, but the reviews identified systemic cultural and organisational problems.

Chief executive Lynn Anderson resigned in November 2024 after 28 years leading the park.

Haydon started the following year as only its third leader.

Visitor numbers fell over the same period.

Rebuilding consumed much of the park’s reserves.

Governance and financial oversight were strengthened, seven additional exotic animal keepers were hired and two veterinary nurses were brought on.

“If we had not sustained our accreditation, we probably wouldn’t be open today, or certainly not open in the way that we are now,” Hughey said.

The board became aware reserves would run dry by March while finalising the 2026 and 2027 budget with the chief executive and senior leadership team.

It had known conditions were becoming difficult for 12 to 18 months before that.

The trust refers to historical under investment and budgets that did not reflect the true cost of meeting modern standards.

Hughey declined to lay responsibility on the former chief executive.

“At the end of the day, the buck stops with the board and the board chairs,” he said.

He has been a board member for about two and a half years and apologised on behalf of the board for the position the park had reached.

This is not the first appeal

Orana has sought public and council support before.

A donation drive during the 2020 Covid lockdown raised more than $129,000 online to cover food, heating and vet bills while the gates were shut, alongside short term government funding.

In its 2024 submission on the council’s long term plan, the trust warned of an “inevitable financial demise” without more support.

It was receiving about $250,000 a year from the council at the time and asked for $1.5 million annually, phased in at $500,000, then $1 million, then $1.5 million.

The trust calculated that at 68 cents a month per ratepayer.

Anderson said at the time that running the park cost more than $100,000 a week, with gate takings covering around two thirds of it.

The council later provided support through its Strengthening Communities and Capital Endowment funds.

Haydon said those earlier requests were made before the reviews were completed and before the full cost of running the park to modern standards was understood.

The wider question

Asked whether public appetite for zoos is fading, Hughey said the social licence question was a global challenge and New Zealand was not immune.

Orana is one of only two facilities breeding kākāriki karaka, the country’s rarest parakeet, for release into the wild.

More than 350 endangered native birds, including whio, pāteke and kiwi, have been bred at the park and released.

“Our number one aim is actually promoting conservation, and I think that’s something that is dear to most people’s hearts,” he said.

The recovery plan rests on growing visitor and commercial revenue, maintaining financial discipline and building recurring government, philanthropic and corporate support.

Work has also started on a long term masterplan for the site.

“The situation is dire and time is tight, but we have a plan and we believe Orana has a future,” Hughey said.

The park is seeking donations through Givealittle, with the page going live at noon on Friday, and regular giving through oranawildlifepark.co.nz.