Zoological Society Cuts Five Jobs
Support charity Bermuda Zoological Society [BZS] confirmed that it will lay off three full-time and two part-time positions as a “cost-cutting measure due to challenging economic conditions.”
“We are sad to have to resort to laying off valued staff, but this is entirely due to the state of the economy and is no reflection on these employees or their performance,” said Dr. Ian Walker, a BZS Executive member and Principal Curator of BAMZ, for which BZS provides funding, volunteers and support staff.
“The declining economy, resulting in more people leaving the Island over the past year, has translated into reduced BZS membership, a decline in the return on investments, as well as more difficulty in fundraising to support BZS operating costs,” Dr Walker said.
“The combination of all those factors has left us with only one option—to reduce salary expenses and restructure some of our programmes.”
Dr Walker noted that BZS had weathered the global recession until now by reducing operating budgets and absorbing financial losses, while resisting staff cuts for as long as possible.
“But there comes a time when, to be a fiscally responsible organisation, we have to draw a line in the sand and make tough but necessary decisions.”
As a result of the announcement, the BZS Gift Shop at BAMZ will be closed today and tomorrow [January 19 and 20]. Until further notice, the shop will be open only on weekends [Saturdays and Sundays], and closed weekdays. Dr. Walker added that no capital projects, BAMZ staff positions, or BZS conservation-education programmes would be compromised.
“Our BZS education programmes, which provide free science classes to thousands of Bermuda’s school students every year, will remain high-quality and available to educators and families year-round,” he said. “We realise the importance of these programmes to our whole community and they remain a top priority for us.
“BZS continues to be a financially viable organisation that is committed to helping the community—and we thank our donors for their confidence in BZS and their continued support.”
A DIRECT RESULT of Bermuda’s lack of appreciation for ex-pats and IB. You know, the people who volunteer at BAMZ, the ones with disposable income, the majority who support BAMZ through memberships, the people who take their children to BAMZ regularly, the people who buy from the gift shop. We make them feel unwelcome, they pack up, they leave and take their money elsewhere. They can do that. They’ve already packed up their lives to move here, what’s the big deal for them to do it again and move on to somewhere friendlier?
Step up Bermuda – if we keep sending ex-pats packing, it is up to us to pick up the slack and replace their financial support in the community. Let’s go….
Yea, I won’t hold my breath. Nothing like biting the hand that feeds us. Stupid sheeple.
Bah Bah Black Sheep have you any platinum yes sir yes sir three house’s full…..
Thats not funny! Pat is leaving for vacation soon to boycott restaurant week. If her house gets robbed you’ll get the blame.
“Her?”
Alaska Hall…..
My apologies sir I thought pat was short for patricia.
Naughty naughty naughty Terry. Now go out & stand on the driving range.
We have a membership at BAMZ & have IB expat friends who have & had membership also. The ones that discontinued their membership because they were leaving didn’t do so because they felt unwelcome. They left because their business sent them somewhere where it was cheaper since their car, house & working space was paid by the business at such a high expense. Some who have stayed didn’t renew their membership because it went from $50 a year to $70 a year basic membership & even more for camps & other activities. Also they got tired of waiting for the madagascar exhibit to get finished. Some others were swayed by their kids because they became bored of seeing the same exhibits again & again.
We love what there is at BAMZ but its not enough to feel like going every weekend to see & are sadly starting to feel its a waste of $70 in this economic climate. If we feel this way & our friends feel this way how many others must also.
The madagascar exhibit has taking years to finish & really is still not fully complete which doesn’t look good at a financial aspect to investors.
Another thing is that a while back they laid off the Bermudians that worked at the food court & hired a company that only hires expats not bermudians to serve the food. So we bring lunch now when we go & don’t eat there for that reason. I guess your not the only one who boycotts food places.
You make some good points, however I thought it necessary to add some to your comments.
The focus of BAMZ is not one of entertainment or profit; it is not a private enterprise (it’s government), and has the sole mission statement of raising consciousness and awareness of small island environments. Furthermore, I think most of the staff would strongly argue against the concept of using living things for entertainment purposes. That they are ‘entertaining’ is more a side-effect than the intention, which is more educational and conservation work (they are active in captive breeding programs of endangered animals, etc.).
Furthermore, they are hampered by both size and the very nature of the industry (for want of a better word). They have only a small peninsula with which to work with/on, and that limits what they can do (as, of course, does finances!). The possibility of opening up satellite sites or expanding into Harrington Sound is about all they can do if they want to grow bigger. And as they work with living organisms, it’s not like an art museum where one can just pack up the exhibits and replace them with new ones on a regular basis. The needs of the animals – their welfare – need to be considered; it would be inhumane to just ship them away every quarter to be replaced with new ‘exhibits’. Just doesn’t work.
The Madagascar exhibit, yeah, I agree with lots of the points there. Was supposed to be ready in 2007. I’m surprised the ‘investigative’ journalists haven’t looked more closely at the reasons behind the delay (which was largely outside of BAMZ’s hands I believe). That delay itself caused a domino effect on both funding and one would imagine the supply of the live exhibits. I imagine that they would have had to put a standing order for these animals in with the expectation of being able to exhibit them at X time. If that time changes greatly, one cannot exactly keep the animals in storage; that would be inhumane, and I reckon the orders would have had to be cancelled and remade, but without a known completion date, that no doubt messes things up. And I wouldn’t be surprised if what looks like a premature opening of the exhibit was dictated by sponsors and not staff.
The food court. Basic economics I guess. I would love it if they were Bermudian staffed and serving Bermudian food – or even food representative of the Zoo exhibits (Australaisa, Madagascar, Caribbean). But that costs money, and if one is trying to cut costs in order to ensure the welfare of the animals (a red line that cannot be crossed one imagines), then one does what one must I guess. Leads a little to a downwards ratchet…
Anyway, just some thoughts based on my observations.
I don’t think anyone can pretend that ex-pat departures haven’t had a significant impact on the Acquarium, the membership draws heavily on them. I’m sure that Corporate IB donations are well down too and that is a global problem – not a Bermuda fault, nor the PLP, just a fact. There are 3 separate job losses in a single day though today, 44 jobs in total, and protectionism isn’t the answer – if the Government doesn’t do more to encourage and support IB,beginning with work permits, then get used to this and to a luch less wealthy population.
Baltic, I think your playing a tug of war with yourself but I’m having to agree with you on both sides. I also feel its a global problem because with a world recession going on everyone is tight with their money especially IB. Then on the other end of the rope is BDA government/PLP has the authority to establish business laws here. I also believe they should do more to encourage and support IB but I can’t agree with you that its because of lack of IB work permits. Government could give out all the IB work permits they want & it wouldn’t change a thing. IBs all over the world are trimming the fat & our tiny island is massive wad of cellulite on IBs face. Government has allowed the inflation of rent, food, gas, transportation, electricity, oxygen, & everything else to go though the roof. There’s office buildings in Central George Town Cayman that go for $35 a square foot so why would IB pay for a $200 a square foot in Bermuda.