Save Bristol Zoo Gardens Open Meeting - 22nd February 2023

Bristol Zoological Gardens closed its doors for the last time on Saturday 3rd September, 2022, 186 years after it first opened to the public.

It is the world’s 5th oldest Zoo; a living, breathing institution, a botanical garden in the heart of Bristol, literally part of the fabric of the city. Bristol Zoological Society wants to sell its historic site to become a luxury housing estate. But it does not yet have planning permission, the site has not been sold and there are still many animals living behind its walls.

All the Zoo’s public statements up to this point have led people to believe that they were "forced" into selling Bristol Zoo. This is misleading. The Zoo were unquestionably facing some long-term structural and inherent challenges but they made a highly subjective choice and the truth is that this did not have to happen. And it still doesn’t. 

If you would like to learn more about how and why Bristol Zoo closed as well as what could happen next, please join us for an 'Open Meeting' on Wednesday 22nd February, 7.30pm, Christ Church, Clifton BS8 4AH.

In the words of Sir David Attenborough:
 
“No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced”. 
 
Taking Bristol Zoo out of the heart of the city will mean that far fewer people, from Bristol,will have the chance to experience amazing and endangered exotic wildlife in the future.