Time to close Chessington Zoo

The foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey has led to part of Chessington World of Adventure's "petting zoo" being closed and included in the exclusion zone.

Let's take this opportunity to close what to me appears to be an entirely cruel animal hell-hole. I've visited Chessington Zoo once and I was brought to tears at the sight of the animals in their enclosures. A "family" of lions was in a pretty small area, not much bigger than the office I work in, and since when is a natural family unit of lions a male lion, one lioness and two cubs? Visitors are also subjected to the patronising spin on their signs telling us that the pacing and excessive grooming is natural behaviour. No it's not - it's abnormal and it's caused by their imprisonment.

I'm dubious about the role of zoos at all but Chessington is the worst I have ever seen, the animals in this zoo are nothing more than features in a theme park, kept behind glass to keep the visitors happy while they queue for the more exciting rides. I can see no conservation or education value whatsoever. In my opinion it's time to close it down.

Visit the Born Free Foundation website for more information on Zoos in the UK.

Born Free

Having seen the news about the CITES agreement on the Ivory Trade and wanting to blog on it I immediately turned to the Born Free Foundation website. And wow - what a transformation. Soooo much more attractive and responsive than their old website.

I will be back with more on the Ivory Trade agreement and my thoughts on that - but in the mean time do pop into Born Free and find out more about their work. Also have a look at the Chief Exec's Blog.

Fantastic people, fantastic job.