Located two miles from
Blackpool's sea-front in
Lancashire,
England,
Blackpool Zoo provides a home to over 1,500
animals from all over the world. The Zoo aims to provide its visitors with a stimulating, informative and enjoyable experience that demonstrates its role in the conservation of
endangered species. Since the purchase of the Zoo in 2003 by a private company, £10m has been invested in updating facilities on the site including the animal enclosures and plans are in place for 2007 for further investment in the Zoo.
History
Opened in 1972, in recent years the Zoo has been the subject of demonstrations by local animal rights campaigners, who allege that the conditions in which some of the animals are kept do not reflect their natural
habitat and therefore are not conducive to the animals' welfare. These groups stage peaceful pickets and distribute leaflets, usually on bank-holiday weekends. The Zoo prepares for these events by producing targeted, anti-protestor literature that is distributed upon their arrival.
2005 saw the opening of the '
Dinosaur Safari', a walkthrough exhibition featuring
plastic models of 32 life-size dinosaurs around a trail. The exhibition has had a lukewarm reception as the models of the dinosaurs are deemed by many to be unrealistic and the extra cost of the trail catches many guests unaware. The Dinosaur Safari was however made free or included within the normal price entrance to the zoo, in mid 2007. In 2006, "Amazonia" opened: a...
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