IN the last few weeks Blackpool Zoo has been in the news. Should the local authority let the zoo be purchased by a private company.

Blackpool Zoo opened in 1972 on the site of what was the Municipal Airport from 1931 to 1946. The zoo offices were once the airport club house and the old hangers are now used as the living area of a giraffe and the Indian elephants. These are the species with small ears.

The zoo has always provided a good service for schools and there is a classroom which can be borrowed by visiting groups.

However well a zoo is run there will always be some people who will want to close it down. I think that bad zoos should be shut, but it is essential to keep open and well funded those which do vital conservation work open.

Blackpool is improving all the time and now has links with zoos all over the world. The combined studies of all these zoos is bound to help scientists keep rare species alive in their natural habitats.

One point about zoos is that they are originally called zoological gardens and they provide the perfect habitat for wild birds seeking the shelter offered. I watched a heron standing among a flock of very pink Flamingoes and nearby a moorhen was incubating a clutch of eggs. Shelduck use the lakes as roosting and feeding areas.

My hope for Blackpool Zoo is that it will be purchased, refurbished and go on from strength to strength.