Ottawa’s Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo ‘begging for support’ in potential final week of business

Canada's largest exotic animal rescue agency, and a staple in the capital for the last 25 years, might have no choice but to turn over its keys to the government for the care of its animals.

Little Ray's Reptile Zoo and Nature Centre has been struggling since the pandemic hit North America in March.

Owner Paul Goulet has been working with his financial partners, but says everything is hinging on the Business Development Bank of Canada’s (BDC) Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) to come through. 

He says more than 95 per cent of the zoo's revenue comes through outsourced education programs and museum exhibits. His team had exhibits set up in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Niagara, Kitchener and Waterloo when COVID-19 measures came into place. Goulet says more museum contracts were going to be starting later this year in places like California, Cleveland and Georgia, as well as others in China and Europe.

The problem is, the zoo's financial partners want to know it has the working capital needed to wait out what is expected to be another six-to-seven months. Goulet says museums are expected to start paying deposits later this year or early in 2021.

In the meantime, 800 animals need food, vet care, shelter, and staff to care for them.

“After four months with near zero revenue we are at our last week before we need to make a plan to turn over the care of our animals to the province and our current creditors,” says Goulet. 

Little Ray's employs about 100 people, some part-time and some full-time, each year.

Goulet explains that the pandemic struck at a particularily bad time for the zoo, as they had just invested hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in growing its museum exhibits business over the past six years.

“In all of this I am not even looking for a bail out or a grant,” he says. “I would like to think that for a company that has paid out over $6-million in salaries over the past five years and collected and paid more than $2.3-million to the government — a company which has grown and has a significant export business — that asking for a $350,000 loan for working capital should not be too much to ask.”

“We have been a last resort for countless animals and I am certain the long term care costs will far exceed the value of a loan we are happy to take on and willfully pay back,” adds Goulet.

A GoFundMe was launched back on May 7 for the zoo, and has raised more than $41,000.

“In my wildest dreams I never thought we would be begging for support in our final hour.”