Flamingo Land ready to welcome back visitors
The Malton theme park and zoo is joining businesses across North Yorkshire in reopening today.
For the first time in months, businesses in York and North Yorkshire are reopening.
It's part of the next step of the roadmap out of lockdown across the UK. Non-essential retail can reopen from today, along with theme parks and zoos.
One of those reopening today is Flamingo Land in Malton. The owner Gordon Gibb says they can't wait to welcome people back: "We feel like a footballer would the night before an FA Cup final, but we've got plenty to focus on and keep us busy.
"We're really looking forward to welcoming our guests back - we've missed them dearly. Our mantra is 'let's open well and professionally'; there's no prize for opening first.
"I love all the animals; that's my passion, not the business. We inherited the animal collection as a family and it's not something that figures in the profit or loss accounts. We don't sell animals - we only breed them if they're critically endangered.
"Over the last lockdown period we managed to send yet another Black Rhino back to the wild of Tanzania.
"We want to do it well and safely, first and foremost. We will be opening the animal collection and holiday village, as well as some selected rides. It's been lovely to welcome back our team members who have been on furlough.
"It was like putting a family back together at our induction the other day, which was very touching. It'll be very interesting to see how the general public changes animal behaviour - I'm sure it will in a positive way.
"I'd go as far to say that the animals have missed having human interaction! So we'll watch that with great interest".