Invest

Tuesday 18th October

Doncaster’s outstanding wildlife attraction, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, has been announced as Business of the Year of Yorkshire and the Humber in the British Chamber of Commerce Awards 2011, beating thousands of hopefuls and going through to the National final.

Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP commented: “Yorkshire Wildlife Park has been transformed in just a few years into one of the best visitor attractions in the North of England. I am not surprised that their innovative, entrepreneurial approach has been recognised by the British Chamber of Commerce. This is yet another example of Yorkshire businesses setting a standard for the rest to follow."

Having won the regional award, Yorkshire Wildlife Park is now competing for the national title in its category, as well as the chance to collect the Award for Outstanding Business Achievement – with a top prize of £25,000 and runners up prizes of £15,000 and £10,000. The national winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Grand Connaught Rooms on November 24th 2011.

On hearing the news, Cheryl Williams, Director of Yorkshire Wildlife Park, said: "We are absolutely thrilled. It truly is testament to the hard work of our wonderful staff and we cannot thank our visitors enough for their invaluable support since we opened in 2009."

The Awards are an opportunity to gain recognition for the hard work, achievement and success of businesses and the people at the heart of it. Now Yorkshire Wildlife Park is a finalist in its category for a national prize in the British Chamber of Commerce Chamber Awards, created to celebrate the UK’s most successful businesses.

Since opening in April 2009, Yorkshire Wildlife Park has spearheaded various campaigns for animal welfare, including the rescue of 13 lions from near-death at a rundown zoo in Romania. The lions now live in comfort at the Park's Lion Country. The latest campaign is the SOS Painted Dog campaign, which aims to send a veterinary task force to Zimbabwe to vaccinate domestic dogs against diseases threatening the species.

One of South Yorkshire's newest attractions, situated in Doncaster, the park occupies 70 acres of a 260 acre site and offers visitors a unique view into the lives of its animals with walkthrough areas including Lion Country, Lemur Woods, and the spectacular Land of the Tigers - the first tiger reserve of its kind in Europe.

Visitors also enjoy the park's global conservation mission – Yorkshire Wildlife Park brings families some of the world's most beautiful - and at risk - species.

With Conservation at the heart of what they do, the most endangered carnivore in Africa, the Painted Hunting Dog, can be seen at the Park, and on the ‘African Plains', zebra, antelope, ankole cattle and ostrich roam free.
Much of the food visitors enjoy at the park is sourced regionally, helping support local businesses.

Families can lark around at Lemur Woods, go wild in Wallaby Walkabout, and enjoy post-safari refreshments at the Wild Cafe. Adopt an animal, or enjoy special experiences including Shadow a Ranger, Junior Ranger, VIP tour with a Ranger or meet the lions at Big Cats and Breakfast.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park has seen its profits grow by 1,000 per cent due to increased visitor numbers.  Last year, its lion rescue generated £1m worth of press coverage and got the Park firmly on the family outings map, sparking a huge increase in visitors which has grown ever since. This has enabled the Park to do even more good work – work is well underway for a new reserve for Amur leopard, the most endangered big cat in the world.

The news comes just a week after the multi-award winning walkthrough wildlife park was Highly Commended as Large Visitor Attraction of the Year by the tourism industry's prestigious White Rose Awards and is heading for the national final.

For more information on Yorkshire Wildlife Park and to find out what is going on in their calendar full of events, visit www.yorkshirewildlifepark.co.uk or contact the park on 01302 535057.