Animal welfare Zoo bosses defend care of gorillas following criticism

BRISTOL Zoo has defended the conditions its gorilla troop are being kept in as a national report highlights “distressing” incidents.

- Sophie GRUBB

Eight gorillas are still living at their old enclosure at the iconic Clifton site, which closed to the public almost three years ago.

Wildlife charity Born Free has issued a report today, endorsed by celebrities including Chris Packham and Nicky Campbell, criticising zoos across the country and calling for a boycott of those which are keeping apes in captivity.

The charity claims zoos cause “suffering endured by great apes in environments that will never meet their complex physical, emotional, and social needs”

“Born Free is asking the public in the South West to vote with their feet, and to pledge not to visit places that keep great apes captive purely for our entertainment,’ a spokesman said.

One paragraph of the report specifically references Bristol Zoo, stating: “Great apes also pose a serious safety risk when they are kept in unnaturally close proximity to humans in zoos. Despite closing its doors in September 2022, the former Bristol Zoo site in the UK has continued to house western lowland gorillas while work on their enclosure at the new Bristol Zoo Project awaits completion.

“Since the old site’s closure, there have been a series of public break-ins, putting the health and safety of both the intruders and the gorillas at risk. The repeated disturbances and loud alarms have reportedly had ‘really distressing’ impacts in the gorillas”