How many zoos in the UK

A

amandahone

Member
Hi there all, does anyone know how many zoos there are in the UK (not including wildlife parks and safari parks, just regular zoos)?
Thank you! A
 
From the top of my head here goes,
London Zoo
Bristol Zoo
Paignton Zoo
Newquay Zoo
Chester Zoo
Colchester Zoo
Twycross Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo
Belfast Zoo
Marwell Zoo
Dudley Zoo
Welsh Mountain Zoo
Blackpool Zoo
Blackbrook Zoo
Hammerton Zoo
Anglesey Sea Zoo
Battersea Park Childrens Zoo
Dartmoor Zoo
Linton Zoo
Whipsnade Zoo

I think thats it for place`s which are purely Zoo`s except for Noah`s Ark Zoo Farm which is just an example of a Farm Park gone wrong as far as i`m concerned!
 
Just a thought, but what is the difference between "wildlife park" and "zoo"? It just seems like a different name for the same thing to me.

As I understand it, you used to be able to define wildlife parks as open range animal collections and zoos were more compact. However, using these definitions, you could argue that Paradise Wildlife Park is more of a zoo than Whipsnade and Whipsnade is more of a Wildlife Park than Paradise ;)
 
Thanks for how many the zoo info!

I have been doing research on wilflife parks vs zoos today and technically a wildlife park is an large area where native animals are kept, often with bigger enclosures than in zoos, often with the option of visitors walking around (I guess this derived from deer parks), but in my experience wildlife parks often have non-native animals in enclosures so I don't truly know. I am going to contact visitbritain.com about it though (I'm doing research in the area anyway), so when I get proper definitions I'll put them here.
 
amandahone said:
Thanks for how many the zoo info!

I have been doing research on wilflife parks vs zoos today and technically a wildlife park is an large area where native animals are kept, often with bigger enclosures than in zoos, often with the option of visitors walking around (I guess this derived from deer parks), but in my experience wildlife parks often have non-native animals in enclosures so I don't truly know. I am going to contact visitbritain.com about it though (I'm doing research in the area anyway), so when I get proper definitions I'll put them here.
Click to expand...

My question was meant to be a rhetorical one, but I don't think it translated well.

Using the standard definition of a wildlife park (which you describe very effectively, although I don't think native animals have anything to do with it) then Whipsnade would be the premier wildlife park in the country, however ZSL renamed it from "Whipsnade Wild Animal Park" to "Whipsnade Zoo" a couple of years ago. So while it is technically a "zoo" by name it is a wildlife park in spirit.

On the other hand, you have collections such as Paradise Wildlife Park which are relatively small and have "zoo-style" enclosures and grounds, yet still labels itself as a wildlife park. I myself would classify this in a "small zoo" category as opposed to the "wildlife park" category.

It's perhaps a little nitpicky of me :p but i don't quite understand the distinction that some people make between wildlife parks and zoos when there are numerous examples of these labels being used on collections which don't fit the stereotype.

Best of luck with your research!
 
One of the things I like about Marwell's recent rebrand is that you don't get all these distinctions about whether it's a zoo, a wildlife park, etc. You could call any of them 'Wildlife'. :)
 
CZJimmy said:
It's perhaps a little nitpicky of me :p but i don't quite understand the distinction that some people make between wildlife parks and zoos when there are numerous examples of these labels being used on collections which don't fit the stereotype.

Best of luck with your research!
Click to expand...

I think some collections think "wildlife park" sounds more free and bigger than zoos....even if they are not.
 
There's also Exmoor Zoo, although it's very small.

For me, wildlife park conjures up images of a collection which doesn't regard itself as good enough to be called a zoo and zoos are pretty much everything else (cocky wildlife parks and true zoos).
 
redpanda said:
There's also Exmoor Zoo, although it's very small.

For me, wildlife park conjures up images of a collection which doesn't regard itself as good enough to be called a zoo and zoos are pretty much everything else (cocky wildlife parks and true zoos).
Click to expand...
Damn i forgot one!!Oh well
 
In Australia a Wildlife Park has mainly Natives and a Zoo has exotics and natives, very loose terms though
 
Guys, does a zoo only get described a zoo if it is a research zoo? i.e. the it looks to breed animals which are endangered and publish findings about animals etc?
 
amandahone said:
Guys, does a zoo only get described a zoo if it is a research zoo? i.e. the it looks to breed animals which are endangered and publish findings about animals etc?
Click to expand...

Well the collection which would probably fit that description best is the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust on Jersey, which changed it's name from Jersey Zoo a few years ago now
 
There is a legal definition of a zoo in the UK: I quote from the DEFRA website's page about the Zoo Licensing Act.
A zoo is defined in the Act as being 'an establishment where wild animals are kept for exhibition ... to which members of the public have access, with or without charge for admission, seven or more days in any period of twelve consecutive months'.

Of course this includes public aquaria, safari parks, butterfly houses and wildlife parks as well as traditional zoos. There is a full list from November 2007 at http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/pdf/protection/zoos-list.pdf.

Alan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top