Gänserndorf Safari Park
The Gänserndorf Safari Park was a publicly accessible wildlife park in Gänserndorf in Lower Austria .
history
The zoo was established in 1972. It immediately met with great public interest. The first animals moved into the area in April. 33 lions got a new home. A total of 300 different animals were already settled at the opening. The then largest safari park in Europe was opened by Defense Minister Lütgendorf on June 8, 1972.
The first setback was the three-month closure in 1973 due to foot and mouth disease in Lower Austria. On November 1, 1979, a major fire caused damage of 20 million schillings (approx. 1.45 million euros). 37 animals perished.
In 1984 a narrow-gauge railway for 2 million shillings was built through the zoo, which was operated and maintained by two railway friends' associations. Conflicts with residents of a nearby settlement and disagreements between the park administration and one of the associations led to the closure of the forest railway . The ongoing high costs of keeping animals resulted in a debt of 17 million schillings despite existing subsidies. Even a solidarity concert in the Kurhalle Oberlaa , in which Hansi Dujmic , Herwig Seeböck and Gary Lux participated, among others , could not save the zoo from balancing out in January 1986.
A decline in visitors as a result of the ban on school walking days due to the Chernobyl disaster and bad investments by the railways led to bankruptcy. In 1987 the former managing director took over the park and continued to run it. With the removal of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the number of visitors increased again.
In 2000 the company, which has not received any public subsidies since its inception, was converted into a public limited company.
In 2003 the safari park was the only rescue station in Europe ( Home of the Gray ) for illegally kept elephants, for example in circuses or with other showmen. At the beginning of 2004 the zoo had to file for bankruptcy again and was closed. At that time there were 850 animals in the zoo, which were looked after by 64 employees.
Until 2007, the Four Paws Association had brought the majority of the lions to South Africa to the Lionsrock Wildcat Park . For health reasons, this was only possible later for two female lions. When one lioness died, the second lioness could also be sent to South Africa in 2009. In 2013, the enclosure in Lionsrock is about 50 hectares with 33 enclosures.
Only for the chimpanzees, which previously served as test animals for the pharmaceutical manufacturer Immuno AG , were there long-term care contracts that were also supposed to contribute to the financing. This was a research project in which the monkeys, which eked out their existence individually at Immuno, were to be socialized again and to live together here. After Baxter took over Immuno , the contracts were extended until 2015. In the course of the bankruptcy, however, this research project was also completely stopped.
Monkey house
Due to the bankruptcy, the future of the monkey house for the experimental monkeys of the pharmaceutical company Baxter was also uncertain. First of all, in 2007 the Ministry of Health took on the further care of the then 50 animals.
At the end of 2009, a sustainable solution became apparent. A contract was signed between the ministry, the Baxter company, the state of Lower Austria and Gut Aiderbichl . After this, up to ten new outdoor enclosures will be built at the current location in Gänserndorf. Gut Aiderbichl takes care of the supply in a newly built enclosure at the same location in Gänserndorf. The lease contract was also extended to 99 years by the municipality of Gänserndorf.
In 2011, Michael Aufhauser , the operator of the Aiderbichl estate, created an outdoor enclosure. This created a protection center alongside two others in Florida and the Netherlands .
Reopening attempt
After the safari park was closed in 2004, Josef Zoher, a veterinarian from Deutsch Wagram , wanted to reopen it in summer 2009. The concept was changed so that the safari park could no longer be visited through the previous car safari, but only on walking paths. Due to a lack of investors, the project was delayed until the lease for the site was also lost, as Zoher could not meet the municipality's condition to reopen the safari park within two years.
The Gänserndorf Adventure Park has been located on part of the site since 2011 (the area operated by Gut Aiderbichl, including the chimpanzee enclosures, is not open to the public).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lion house in the Gänserndorf forest completed . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna April 1, 1972, p. 6 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ Safari at the gates of Vienna . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna June 9, 1972, p. 5 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ Disasters in Austria in the 20th century ( memento of the original from May 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 12, 2010
- ↑ Waldbahn Nasswald - history of the association, accessed on January 31, 2009 ( Memento of the original from September 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Now final end for the Gänserndorf Safari Park . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 4, 1986, p. 9 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
- ↑ STATUS ANALYSIS GEMEINDE GÄNSERNDORF ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Structural analysis focus on safari park Strengths and weaknesses analysis from 1999, accessed on February 6, 2009
- ↑ Police scandal: Despite confiscation and a large police operation - elephant Seila has to stay in the circus for the time being ( memento of the original from October 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated June 23, 2003, accessed February 6, 2009
- ↑ Safaripark Gänserndorf: Before the end on Die Presse of July 9, 2004, accessed on September 15, 2008
- ↑ Safari park bankruptcy: Animals in danger on Die Presse from January 14, 2004, accessed on September 15, 2008
- ↑ The last lioness from the Gänserndorf safari park has a better future in South Africa ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Four Paws, June 17, 2009, accessed June 21, 2009.
- ^ Lionsrock - It started with ten lions from Gänserndorf on April 18, 2013, accessed on December 6, 2014.
- ↑ End of chimpanzee rehabilitation? Die Presse April 1, 2007, accessed February 6, 2009
- ↑ The monkeys are allowed to stay ORF Lower Austria from July 7, 2007, accessed on December 22, 2009.
- ^ Gänserndorf: Happy ending for Baxter laboratory monkeys on ORF Lower Austria from December 21, 2009, accessed on December 22, 2009.
- ↑ The future of the Baxter monkeys is secured on ORF Lower Austria from November 17, 2009, accessed on December 22, 2009.
- ↑ Gänserndorfer laboratory monkeys enjoy life in the open air ( memento of the original from January 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. dated September 6, 2011, accessed February 18, 2013.
Web links
- Gut Aiderbichl monkey refuge Gänserndorf
- Film documentary Unter Menschen ( Memento from July 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (broadcast on ORF on July 6, 2014, 11 p.m.)
Coordinates: 48 ° 18 ′ 13 ″ N , 16 ° 42 ′ 49 ″ E