Created almost 50 years ago, the Refuge de l’Arche shelters some 1,300 animals, most of them exotic, on its Château-Gontier site in Mayenne. But for several weeks, the financial situation of this amazing zoo, all of whose animals have been abandoned or taken away from their owners by the courts, is becoming more complicated, particularly due to inflation. “The electricity budget has exceeded that devoted to powering our thousand residents,” the association warned a few days ago. Added to this are the 200,000 euros that the Refuge devotes to the Valentine & Jacques Perrin Safeguarding Center. »
Concerning this second activity, the first tourist site in Mayenne (85,000 annual visitors) finally took a radical decision: to suspend the reception and care of new injured animals, for an “indefinite period”. Nearly 1,500 animals were welcomed there last year, mainly birds, but also mammals from the local fauna, most of which were treated and released into the wild. If you discover an injured or lost animal, you must now contact the Pays-de-la-Loire Wildlife and Ecosystem Veterinary Center.
The revenue of the Refuge de l’Arche, which shelters wild animals, monkeys, antelopes, or reptiles and employs 32 employees, comes mainly from entry tickets (48%) and public subsidies (26%). A vast donation campaign has just been launched in several businesses in the department and via a website. “If each Mayennais gave 1 euro, that would be 306,000 euros raised and that would allow us to continue our actions,” indicates the management.