Bristol Zoological Society fundraising auctions raise £206,000 for charity

Three fundraising auctions of memorabilia and historic items from the former Bristol Zoo Gardens, have raised more than £206,000.

We recently held two online auctions, which featured more than 300 items ranging from original zoo signage to animal sculptures, statues and Victorian benches.

Every penny raised will help fund the creation of our new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project, as well as our important conservation and education work.

The first of the public auctions, which were led by Bristol-based auctioneers Auctioneum, took place on Friday 22 November and raised £161,600. The event was broadcast live online and attracted bidders from around the world.

The second concluded on Monday 25 November and featured 45 of the zoo’s iconic Victorian benches, which were created especially for the zoo between 1850 and 1880. It raised £25,000, which is equivalent to almost one year’s funding for our Madagascar conservation programme, where we work with local communities and partners to monitor wildlife and protect and restore the habitats that are home to the wonderful blue-eyed black lemurs.

A further £20,000 was raised at a gala fundraising dinner, which also featured an auction of a small number of additional items.

We went to great lengths to ensure as many significant items as possible, were preserved before the auctions took place. This included:

• Bringing in a specialist archivist to identify items of historical value, which are now stored in Bristol City Council archives.

• Ensuring aspects of the site are listed and therefore protected and can’t be moved, such as the famous sign - ‘To the Zoo’ - on Guthrie Road.

• Retaining many of the most significant historical items for display at Bristol Zoo Project or the future Clifton Conservation Hub (to be housed in the iconic Bristol Zoo Gardens entrance building). This includes items such as the Mute Swan bronze swan sculpture from the herbaceous border, and the original death mask of Alfred the gorilla.

• Repurposing as much as possible, moving furniture and other items to Bristol Zoo Project. For example, the new red panda habitat at Bristol Zoo Project is made from an old Clifton enclosure.

• Asking the public to contact the Society if they have personal items they would like to secure. The Society has returned everything from plaques on benches, to portraits and plants.

We would like to say thank you to everyone who bid on an item and supported us in our mission of saving wildlife together and helping to protect the world’s most threatened species.

It has been wonderful to watch the live public auctions take place and to see how many people have taken the opportunity to join us in celebrating our long history. Not only are they securing their own piece of Bristol Zoo Gardens history, they are also helping us to fund the future of our charity.

Thank you!