This morning I woke up and suddenly realised that I have spent more than half of my life trying to save Marineland's animals. For the past seven years, I have cleaned beaches, written poetry, raised awareness about marine conservation, fundraised and presented oral submissions to the council asking them to consider setting up a marine wildlife rescue and education centre in Napier.
For seven years, I have tried everything I could think of to try and persuade the council to listen to the children of Napier to keep Marineland's animals here where we can look after them, see them and learn from them.
The animals are still here but the closest I can get to them these days is to sit outside the fence and listen to them "talking" to each other and splashing in and out of their pools.
Last December, Mayor Dalton came to visit me and my sisters at our home. He told us we'd worked hard and that we shouldn't give up doing what we were doing. He told us that a marine wildlife rescue centre was a good idea, just not on the Marineland site. He gave us hope. So, when I woke up this morning, I suddenly felt like I had to do something for our animals before it's too late. My sisters and I can't afford to pay thousands of dollars for a business plan as the council suggests, so here it is and maybe someone out there with vision, a love of animals can help us realise the dream:
Zarah Otto's Business Plan: Build naturally-landscaped pools next to the Aquarium and move the animals there. Include a cafe and picnic area for visitors.
