Glasgow Zoo, or Calderpark Zoo, was a
zoological park
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...
in
Baillieston
Baillieston ( sco, Bailiestoun) is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre.
It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament.
Geograph ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland.
The zoo was established in 1947 by the Zoological Society of Glasgow and West of Scotland, which was itself established in 1936.
The zoo was located on the lands of the former
Calderpark Estate, and during its peak attracted about 140,000 visitors a year. At the zoo's peak it contained over 600 animals and had 24 full-time and many part-time or seasonal staff.
It closed in August 2003 after running up a
debt
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
of around £3.5 million and failing to renew its zookeeper licence, having been unable to meet new standards on animal welfare. In the last few years that it was open, Glasgow Zoo deteriorated mainly due to the lack of funding from the local council and due to many allegations of
animal cruelty.
History
Founding
The ''Zoological Society of Glasgow'' was founded on 15 December 1936 by Edward Hindle, who was a professor of zoology at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
. Its name was later changed to the ''Zoological Society of Glasgow and West of Scotland''.
The initial proposal was for the zoo to be in Bellahouston Park in 1938, beginning with a four-acre enclosure with expansion as the project went on. This proposal was rejected by the organisers of the exhibition who would fund the zoo, so various other locations were considered; no inner city site was identified as a good build site. At the end of 1938 the Society looked at the Calderpark Estate, two miles beyond the city boundary with a large plot of land available for construction and free-animal enclosures. The society bought Calderpark Estate in 1939. The property had formerly been farmed by
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
s, and the original mansion had been demolished a decade earlier when it became unsafe due to subsidence from underground coal mines.
[
] The onset of World War II led to the opening of the zoo being delayed till 9 July 1947.
When construction began during Britain's recovery period, many of the zoo's buildings were made from old war materials such as the enclosures being built out of concrete roadblocks (designed to hinder tank movements on the chance of invasion), bricks from demolished air raid shelters, and metal from now defunct battleships. However, the estate had remained empty for two decades before the zoo was established.
On the year of its opening, many animals were donated from other zoos and enclosures.
Soay sheep
The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') descended from a population of feral sheep on the island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about from the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one of the Northern European short-tai ...
were supplied from the island of
St. Kilda, beforehand owned by the Zoological society president.
Dublin Zoo supplied two lion cubs from their recent litters and London zoo loaned – and then donated – two adult lions to Glasgow Zoo's new enclosures. At the time the prize exhibits were the lions and a rare
white peacock – now fairly common – which attracted many people to the zoo, some bringing their own exotic pets to add to the zoo's already expanding collection: these included monkeys, parrots and many other rarer species.
Calderpark for Glasgow Zoo railway station[Wignal (1983), Page 11] (NS679625) served Calderpark Zoo and was opened in 1951 on the
Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway
The Glasgow, Bothwell, Hamilton and Coatbridge Railway was a railway company in Scotland, built to serve coal and ironstone pits in the Hamilton and Bothwell areas, and convey the mineral to Glasgow and to ironworks in the Coatbridge area. It w ...
between Shettleston and Hamilton. It closed with the line in 1955.
Last years
Due to decreasing levels of revenue and public funding, as well as having to compete with the larger and more successful
Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo, formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The land lies on the south facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, from which it provides extensive v ...
, Glasgow Zoo attempted to rent or sell land and animals to try to avoid bankruptcy. Starting in 1999 the zoo tried to sell off its excess to land, but delays in planning permission prevented the sale.
In 2000 it started to hire out some of its animals to help raise much needed cash, but drew criticism from animal welfare campaigners.
In 2002, thieves stole two of the zoo's non-poisonous snakes and vandalised a van and the zoo's tea room.
Another break-in a few months later resulted in a parrot being stolen from the zoo.
Closure
The Glasgow Zoo closed on 25 August 2023
despite being to set to close in late September.
The zoo closed because of debts of £3.5 million which it accumulated after its public funding stopped in 2000. Animal welfare organizations had concerns about conditions and public safety.
During the time before closure, staff from the zoo in tandem with
SSPCA
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (also known as the Scottish SPCA and SSPCA) is a charity to promote animal welfare in Scotland.
History and operations
It was founded in Edinburgh in 1839 and one of its first aims ...
workers helped relocate animals to other zoos or enclosures.
As of February of 2023, even though the zoological society stated interest in re-opening the attraction or the creation of a similar attraction on the site, plans were made to clear the land to make way for new homes. The land of the Glasgow zoo still remains in ruins. Nowadays a few traces of the previously prominent Glasgow Zoo remain.
Since the closure of the zoo in 2003, the area and old buildings fell into disrepair with many of the enclosures being burned, demolished or vandalized as well as illegal dumping from nearby developers and constructors causing further damage to the structures to the point where many were unsafe for use.
The area was no longer being locked due to extensive damage to the gate and gatehouse (burned to the ground) as well as the rear gate being burst open.
Animals and exhibits
![HansomeLion 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/HansomeLion_002.jpg)
The zoo specialized in four types of animals:
mammals,
birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
,
reptiles
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...
, and
farm land animals. Some of the zoo's most popular mammals were
African lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
s,
white rhinoceros,
white-throated Capuchin monkeys,
Asian black bear
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...
s and a
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
named Winston. Birds on display at the zoo included
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
,
lorikeets, scarlet macaws, and Indian
peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
s. Reptiles at the zoo included: major
skinks, bearded
lizards
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...
, a selection of snakes (
boa constrictor, papuan python, Madagascan Tree Boa etc.) and a tortoises including elongated, hermanns, African spurred, and Aldabran giant.
Glasgow Zoo also housed a large farmland display. Some of these animals include
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...
,
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s,
geese,
doves, large black
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...
s,
ponies, and
guinea pig
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ani ...
s.
Glasgow zoo was also well known as a
zoological garden
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...
due to the large variety of plant life around the zoo's enclosures, and the zoo had a wildlife garden with a wide range of natural habitats including scrub woodland containing birch and ash trees, a large selection of hedge life including hawthorn and hazel and a section of traditional Scottish moorland. The wildlife garden and surrounding areas were often used for teaching as the wide variety of plants allowed for many areas of plant life to be studied.
Controversies
During the zoo's final years before closure, it developed a large debt due to dwindling visitor numbers, lack of public funding, and the death of Richard O’Grady, the zoo's director, in 2001, which led to poor management decisions and negligence. The publication of this debt in the media, along with the apparent rundown appearance of the zoo, resulted in animal rights groups looking into the welfare of the zoo's animals. A report written by
Jordi Casamitjana
Jordi Casamitjana is a Veganism, vegan Zoology, zoologist, Animal protectionism, animal protection campaigner, and Animal rights movement, animal rights activist. He was born in Catalonia in 1964 but is a British citizen living in the UK since 1993 ...
, for
Advocates for Animals, made multiple claims of animal cruelty, including that unwanted pets were killed and fed to the zoo's snakes, and that the parents of the lion cubs at the park were brother and sister. The report also highlighted the financial status of the zoo and its substantial annual losses.
With such great debt it was inevitable that the zoo would fall into disrepair and the welfare of its animals would also fall dramatically. Les Ward, the director of Advocates for Animals, said that the zoo was the worst he had encountered, and that the group's report urged the licensing committee to close the zoo to the public immediately. Samantha Scott, an animal behaviourist at the
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, also commented in the report about the mental state of Glasgow zoo's animals: "The White rhino showing signs of possible stereotypic behaviour (circling), which is normally associated with difficulties in coping with captive life, or frustrated territorial patrolling."
In defense of the allegations against the zoo, spokeswoman Alicia McGrewer stated "It is the humans who have not liked the aesthetics of Glasgow Zoo but animal welfare has never been compromised."
Site development after closure
![The Avenues, Calderpark - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/The_Avenues%2C_Calderpark_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1281534.jpg)
By late 2004, one of the car parks built to facilitate Glasgow zoo had been redeveloped into a set of luxury flats, the second car park being fenced off to reduce vandalism.
In March 2012,
Miller Homes
Miller Homes is a housebuilder based in the United Kingdom.
History
The company was established by Sir James Miller in 1934. Expansion led to James' brothers, John and Lawrence, joining him in the business. Miller soon became Edinburgh's lea ...
building company submitted an application detailing plans for the construction of 78 houses on the Glasgow zoo site to Glasgow city council. After receiving only one objection, these plans were approved subject to negotiations. The plans include the development of
residential areas
A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...
, infrastructure works including a park and ride facility for the new development and landscaping of the nearby areas.
In literature
Glasgow Zoo (properly "a Glasgow zoo") is mentioned in the comic book ''
The Black Island
''The Black Island'' (french: link=no, L'Île noire) is the seventh volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper for its children's supplement , it ...
'', one of ''
The Adventures of Tintin
''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...
'' series by
Hergé, where the gorilla Ranko says goodbye to his rescuer Tintin.
Notes
References
*
External links
*
Calderpark zoo on The Urban Abandonment Project websiteCalderpark zoo on the Secret Scotland website
{{authority control
Zoos in Scotland
Former zoos
1947 establishments in Scotland
Tourist attractions in Glasgow
2003 disestablishments in Scotland
Buildings and structures in Glasgow
Zoos established in 1947
Zoos disestablished in 2003
Baillieston
Bothwell and Uddingston