my heart # i do believe # that we shall overcome # some day. # some day. beautiful. zoos, safari parks and drive in cinemas are set to reopen in england from monday, as part of the latest steps to ease the coronavirus lockdown. the prime minister is expected to give more details later today. chester zoo is among those expecting to reopen and says it s overjoyed at the news. there were concerns its future could be in doubt if visitors were not allowed back. the duke of edinburgh is celebrating his 99th birthday today. to mark the occasion, buckingham palace has released this photo of prince phillip and queen elizabeth. the duke is expected to spend the day at windsor castle where he and the queen have
last week they were fighting for survival this morning they re roaring back to life. we ll be live at chester zoo, as the government prepares to give them the green light to open from monday. we ll hear calls for us to clap together one last time, and use the birthday of the nhs next month to show our appreciation for everybody who s played their part in helping during the pandemic. and if your pets have loved you working from home, spare a thought for them when you go back to the office. we ll hear how the rspca is warning some might suffer from lockdown anxiety once restrictions are eased. i have two dogs. ruby, she is a labrador and i will be sitting typing on my computer and shejumps behind me and sits here. it must be lovely to have you at home. that is
predators. they are a great symbol of community. just going back to the difficulties for all of you running the safari park there, how stressful has it been for you? it hasjust been the frustration, to be honest. it is just not knowing. unable to grab the facts, it is the uncertainty. in life, we want certainty. we find it frustrating when we are asking government, why can t we open, and there were no response is coming back. as i mentioned, a parallel is being drawn between the fact that businesses like yours are back in operation from monday, but schools are not. but a key fact it is the fact that you are outside. you are absolutely right, and all of our indoor facilities will remain closed. the restau ra nt facilities will remain closed. the restaurant will be closed. but actually, we would hope that from around 4th ofjuly we might be able to open those as well. for the time
the end of visitors has cost chester zoo £5 million so far and underlines the huge financial strain put on some of the country s best loved visitor attractions because of the pandemic. holly hamilton has been to visit the zoo. no sign of the thousands of visitors that normally make this place the uk s busiest zoo. forced to close its doors at the beginning of lockdown, no ticket sales means a loss of 97% of its income, leaving chester zoo fighting for its future. we did think we were going to open a few weeks ago and the government changed regulations just over sunday into monday, which now means we can t open at all and they haven t even given us a date, so we can t even plan for the future. we are in our peak season now, june, july, august, is where we make the majority of our money, we are a very seasonal organisation, so we are really, really concerned that this could be the end of chester zoo. when it comes to zoos, it is easy to see what makes this place the main event. over 500
fighting for its future. we did think we were going to open a few weeks ago and the government changed regulations just over sunday into monday, which now means we can t open at all and they haven t even given us a date, so we can t even plan for the future. we are in our peak season now, june, july, august, is where we make the majority of our money, we are a very seasonal organisation, so we are really, really concerned that this could be the end of chester zoo. when it comes to zoos, it is easy to see what makes this place the main event. over 500 species across 128 acres, attracting more than two million visitors last year. the running costs of this place amount to over £1.6 million per month and that is notjust to care for the 35,000 animals who live here, although there are some pretty big mouths to feed, it is also to cover the costs of the staff, of the site, of the insurance and all the conservation projects that are all going on behind closed doors. it s really difficult rig