The veteran broadcaster from Richmond told the Sunday Times “what happens if you can’t afford the food? Are we supposed to put [the animals] down?”.
The zoo has been closed for 12 weeks, but still has to pay £44,000 a month to feed the animals.
Visitor numbers will be capped at 2,000, despite a capacity of 10,000.
They’re hoping to raise £12m as part of a £25m rescue package.