Mum of disabled man pens open letter to West Midlands Safari Park over "discriminatory" new policy
Helen Ashby's "disappointed" carers must now pay to visit the park
Last updated 18th Jan 2022
The mother of a disabled man has written an open letter to West Midlands Safari Park about their new "discriminatory" policy.
Helen Ashby says she's "disappointed" carers of disabled people will now have to pay £22 to enter the park when visiting with someone they are caring for.
Her 33-year-old son David, who has Down's Syndrome and Autism, has a Disabled Annual Pass and visits the park over 20 times a year with his carers.
When David visited the park at the beginning of January, his carer was informed they would have to pay to get in despite David's annual pass permitting them to enter for free.
They were told there had been a change in policy partly because many people had been "exploiting" the system.
"Dave has been going to the WMSP for all of his life, usually around 20 times a year", explains Helen.
"Out of the blue with no warning they scrapped a free carers admission with a disabled visitor. A carer's entrance is now £22.
"Dave can wake up and say he wants to go to the safari park and regardless of money in his wallet we can go as he has an annual pass plus which means he and 1 carer has access to the safari and the rides as many times as they want.
"To now have to say he can afford to go once every four or six weeks at most will have consequences on his mood, his behaviour and his general wellbeing."
"I'm appalled and terrified of the consequence"
Helen has now written an open letter to the attraction in the hope they will recognise the impact their decision will have on her son and the entire local diabled community who visit.
Helen said: "I didn't feel they were listening or understanding the impact on disabled people or their carers.
"They are missing the point and they are discriminating against people like Dave who have been incredibly loyal to their attraction for decades.
"I think it was short sighted, and was a financial decision about admission income and not taking into account spending on site, animal food, lorikeet nectar, gift shop, food vendors."
West Midlands Safari park defends their decision
The popular attraction says "a number of factors" were taken in the decision to remove free admission for carers and it "wasn't taken lightly".
They say one of the factors was people exploiting the system. One example was where a person turned up in a minibus with 12 carers who were all able to enter the park for free.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Safari park said: "Carers still receive a variety of benefits, including the opportunity to purchase discounted admission tickets and annual passes. They also receive free multi-ride wristbands.
“We will continue to offer free entry for carers who accompany Disabled Annual Pass holders, if those passes were purchased or renewed in 2021
"For any Disabled Annual Passes purchased or renewed from 1st January 2022 onwards, accompanying carers will be required to purchase a discounted admission ticket for the day, or a discounted Annual Pass.
“We understand that the same carer may not always accompany the same disabled guest. Therefore, Annual Passes now purchased for carers will not require a photo. We hope this will give those guests the flexibility for their carer needs when visiting the Park.
“We value all guest feedback and we look forward to meeting with Helen. Not only is she a Mum to her disabled son, David, but also a voice for the carer community. We always seek to listen and review our policies and we would like to take the time to discuss the points she has raised.”
Helen is due to have a meeting with West Midlands Safari Park to raise her concerns.
"They cant claim to be disability friendly just because they are physically accessible if they are financially not", Helen adds.
"I think a lesson for them is to listen to guests when they make or change policy.
"They are a business and they need to survive but they need to realise the impact of their decision will effect their income anyway."