Glasgow Zoo being kept afloat by housebuilders

Published on Monday 11 November 2002 00:00

AN animal welfare charity has demanded that Glasgow Zoo is placed in administration, following revelations that its day-to-day running costs were being met by a firm of housebuilders.

The latest twist surrounding one of the city’s most famous institutions comes as Miller Homes – the company now bankrolling staff and heating costs – awaits final planning consent to build 200 houses on a 26-acre site purchased from the zoo.

For more than a year, the zoo has lurched from crisis to crisis as visitor numbers plummet and serious concerns have been raised over its dilapidated state and poor hygiene standards.

Now, in a letter to the Scottish Charities Office, John Robins, campaigns consultant for the pressure group Animal Concern, has called for an administrator to be put in charge of the zoo and an investigation launched into the relationship between the zoo’s management and Miller Homes.

His letter states: “We urge you to take immediate steps to put in a competent person to take over the administration of the Zoological Society of Glasgow and West Scotland, while your investigations into my previous concerns over this charity are investigated.”

Mr Robins has been one of the zoo’s most vociferous critics, in the past questioning the standard of care given to animals by workers.

“The link with a commercial building company requires deeper scrutiny,” Mr Robins said yesterday. “I think they should get some of the monkeys to run the zoo, they could not do a worse job than the management team at the moment.

“Unless something is done now, the animals at the zoo will end up being put down when the zoo, as it inevitably will, is forced to close.”

Although Miller Homes has refused to say whether it is involved in bailing out the zoo, sources close to the attraction are reported to have confirmed the deal.

They say that, after the bank threatened to pull the plug on the zoo last month, the firm stepped in and has been paying running costs in the hope

that the zoo – believed to be 3 million in debt – stays afloat long enough to complete the land sale.

Two weeks ago, the council, which licenses the zoo, demanded clarity on the zoo’s finances and proof that standards were adequate.

Animal Concern is also claiming the zoo has failed to produce copies of any accounts or annual reports to the public since 1998.

Last night, no-one at the zoo was available for comment.