Sir, – It’s great to see how much Dublin Zoo has improved in the last few years – the new gorilla habitat, the new elephant area, and recently the sea lions have moved into their new home. I went there today with my three-year-old daughter and she was very excited to see the sea lions swimming underwater. What ruined the experience somewhat was the smell of grease from the nearby eatery – a glorified chipper where you can buy such delights as cheeseburgers and fries, and wash it down with a gallon of Coke. The food offering in the Meerkat Restaurant, while marginally healthier, isn’t much more inspiring.
At a time when all across Dublin there are exciting food markets popping up in the most unlikely places, it’s disappointing to see that the zoo did not take the opportunity of its redevelopment to embrace a more imaginative approach to food. Particularly given the fact that this is a family attraction, it seems particularly irresponsible to be marketing cheap, unhealthy food to children. When the President opened the sea lion habitat recently, I doubt he stayed for lunch. – Yours, etc,
JUSTIN DEEGAN,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.