Ähtäri Zoo sold for symbolic €1 after bankruptcy

Ähtäri Zoo, a bankrupt wildlife park in the west-central Finnish city of Ähtäri, has been sold to an association formed by its current and former employees for a symbolic one euro, reported Xinhua, quoiting local media on Monday.

The Zoo closed its doors on Sunday.

The city of Ähtäri confirmed that it approved the sale last Friday, transferring the zoo's land, facilities, animals and equipment to the Visit and Care Association (Vieraile ja Välität ry).

The sale price was one euro plus 25.5 percent value-added tax, according to national broadcaster Yle.

The deal allows the association to continue caring for the animals temporarily while seeking a long-term operator to take over the site.

Founded in 1973 and long regarded as the flagship of Finland's domestic tourism, Ähtäri Zoo filed for bankruptcy in mid-October after years of financial difficulties. Zoo director Arja Väliaho told local newspaper Ilkka-Pohjalainen that an unusually cold and rainy summer, coupled with the financial strain facing Finnish households, had sealed the zoo's fate.

"The final blow came from a weak 2025 summer season marked by cold and rainy weather and cautious domestic spending," Väliaho said. "With normal summer weather in 2025, the zoo could have survived. But this summer families stayed home."

Local residents told Yle they were saddened but not surprised by the news, citing long-standing challenges and declining visitor numbers. Mikko Savola, chair of Ähtäri's City Council, described the bankruptcy as "a sad matter for Ähtäri and the entire region," noting that the zoo had played a key role in both wildlife conservation and local tourism.

Spread over 60 hectares of subarctic forest and fields, the zoo housed around 50 species, including wolves, bears and lynxes.

It gained international attention in 2018 when two giant pandas arrived from China as part of a research and conservation partnership between the zoo and the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA).

Their arrival briefly lifted annual visitor numbers from 170,000 to 275,000.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions led to a sharp fall in visitor numbers, weakening the zoo's finances.

As expenses continued to exceed revenue, the zoo could no longer afford to keep the pandas, which were returned to China in 2023 under a mutual agreement between the partners. After their departure, revenues declined even further.

Valiaho said efforts are now focused on finding a new operator to keep the animals in place. The employee-run Visit and Care Association said it aims to ensure the animals' welfare in the coming months. If no new operator is found, the animals may be relocated to other European zoos.

Earlier on October 13, Ähtäri Zoo and its accommodation facility Hotel Mesikämmen were declared bankrupts.