Clissold Park ‘Zoo’ closure plea renewed
Campaigners voice concern about the ethics and appropriateness of keeping animals in enclosures in an inner city park. Photo: Clissold Park Zoo Watch
Campaigners demanding an end to a “bizarre, inhumane anachronism” have launched a new petition calling on the Town Hall to immediately re-home the animals in the Clissold Park ‘zoo’.
Hundreds of people have already signed the petition, drawn up by Clissold Park Zoo Watch activists who claim the Lottery-funded, multi-million pound refurbishment of the Stoke Newington green space has had a devastating impact on the animals.
A spokesperson said: “The management failed to evacuate the 10 fallow deer, two pygmy goats, four rabbits and five chickens which were were left on-site, surrounded by a noisy, insecure construction area. During the works three deer and all four rabbits died due to insecure fencing… 10 aviary birds were found dead over the winter in their makeshift temporary aviary.”
The park’s animal enclosures are owned and run by the London Borough of Hackney, and earlier this year a report on the deer deaths compiled by Hackney Council’s veterinary consultant, Peter Green, criticised the “lapse in basic husbandry” which had allowed a dog to access the enclosure and attack the animals.
As the refurbishment work at the park nears completion, Zoo Watch members have now stepped up their campaign by staging a series of eye-grabbing petition-signing events in Clissold Park on Saturday mornings.
The campaigners claim the quality of life of the ‘zoo’ animals will remain substandard after the completion of the work due to extra demands placed on an already stretched workforce.
A Zoo Watch spokeswoman said: “By reason of management, staffing, environment and security, the London Borough of Hackney is incapable of keeping animals in conditions which council taxpayers will find acceptable. Day-to-day care of the animals – health, nutrition, etc – depends on a committed management and fully qualified, dedicated staff. But the animals remain tended to by unqualified gardeners who now face a greater workload as a result of the new facilities created by the refurbishment.”
She added that the zoo would remain too noisy and busy, and the deer pen too small and overgrazed, and said a new path through the animal pens would leave their inhabitants even more vulnerable to dogs.
“Clissold Park Zoo is a bizarre, inhumane anachronism, more suited to the nineteenth century than the twenty-first. It’s time to close it down, to re-home the animals to the sanctuaries already found by Clissold Park Zoo Watch, and to use the space for a new creative alternative to meet modern-day children’s needs.”
Councillor Jonathan McShane, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Culture said: “We know that everyone has the welfare of the animals in Clissold Park at heart. As the £8.9 million transformation nears completion the animals are getting ready to move into their new and improved homes. We have been working very closely with our veterinary consultant, Peter Green, who visited just last week. He is confident that the new deer enclosure will provide a very good home.”
The council says that new arrangements have been put in place for both husbandry and veterinary supervision. It also says provision of food for the deer has been revised, and proposals for regular coppicing of the canal bank plantings to provide natural browsing have been accepted. The council says there will be a low stocking density, that the fence is designed to be secure and a permanent deer refuge has been created which will enable the deer to escape the public gaze. The council’s parks staff and the contractors are carrying even more regular checks of the fencing to ensure it is secure and also have night patrols around the enclosure.
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