Protesters picket Glasgow Zoo

Published on Tuesday 22 April 2003 01:00

GLASGOW Zoo has been targeted by animal rights protesters as part of a nationwide campaign to highlight the plight of captive animals.

About 30 protesters from Captive Animals’ Protection Society (CAPS) picketed the zoo in the east of the city, yesterday, as visitors took advantage of the Easter holiday to visit the park.

CAPS said they held the demonstration to highlight what it claims are the "sad eyes and empty lives" of the many animals kept in captivity.

Glasgow Zoo had been threatened with closure after more than 600 animal welfare complaints were recorded.

Officials from Glasgow City Council, however, allowed the zoo to continue after management put forward a rescue plan in February to bring the attraction up to scratch.

A CAPS spokesman said that about 30 campaigners had gathered at zoos in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Southport, London, Bristol and Dartmoor Wildlife Park.

He said the response from the public had been good and that the aim had been education rather than trying to stop people going into the zoos.

He added: "The idea is educational awareness - to make people think about the issues relating to zoos and hopefully encourage people not to go again even if they have gone today.

"They will see that animals suffer in zoos and that zoos are not helping conservation."

Campaigners had been speaking to zoo visitors and handing out information leaflets, he said.

The aim was also to increase support for other conservation and wildlife projects instead of zoos, he added.

"It is not a case of how many people we can turn away on the day - it is a case of drawing these issues to people’s attention."

Preston-based CAPS was founded in 1957 and works across the UK on issues relating to wildlife in captivity.

Among the zoo’s most ardent critics, Les Ward, the director of Advocates for Animals, said that animals were being kept in "unacceptable" conditions.

He said that primates were found with "bald patches", living in conditions with "peeling paint and flaking plaster".

He said an animal behaviourist found that the tigers were showing signs of stress, with a water pool polluted by mud.

Visitors to the zoo have also criticised the poor state of repair, as management struggles to control its spiralling debt.

The zoo first opened 52 years ago but has failed to keep up with its more popular counterpart in Edinburgh.

Fences have been found to be in disrepair and cages affected by rust. Glasgow City Council’s licensing committee has stayed its execution of the attraction until 31 July to address problems with security, fire safety, repairs, and insurance cover.

The zoo is set to clear 3 million of debt by selling a quarter of its 100 acres for housing. Housebuilders Miller Homes are waiting for final planning consent for 200 houses on a 26-acre site purchased from the zoo.

The zoo’s management hope the deal, worth about 4 million, will leave a surplus which could be reinvested in the site.

The remainder of the Calderpark site will be turned into an all-weather, covered attraction with "interactive" computerised keepers, similar to those in American wildlife parks.

Later this year, the new layout will be launched following a major consultation exercise. Members of the public will also be asked what animals they think the zoo should house.

One of the zoo’s supporters, has given support in kind to keep the attraction open.

Boyd Tunnock, the man behind the biscuit empire, has sent painters and joiners from his factory in Uddingston to help patch up the zoo’s poor maintenance.

Mr Tunnock, who recently took 500 staff to dinner to celebrate his 70th birthday, said his love of animals forced him to act. He was reported as saying: "Everyone likes kicking the zoo when it’s down but I think it is worth saving."

Mr Tunnock, who owns deer and black swans, said his employees had patched up some of the animal enclosures and cleared derelict areas.

The sign at the park entrance was given a coat of paint, while the tearoom was overhauled and new brochures printed promoting the attraction.