Sir, – Gerry Boland wrote about his visit to the Dublin Zoo and about coming away “disappointed and depressed” (April 28th). I have been to the zoo many times with my family and each time we have a wonderful day. We do not spend our time eating factory-farmed meat and drinking fizzy drinks. Instead we bring a lovely picnic and have it at one on the many picnic areas.
As we go around the zoo, any zoo-keepers we meet are only too happy to spend time talking to us about the animals and their habitat and explaining to us about their environment; and how they are committed to making it as natural as possible.
As for Mr Boland’s comments about “bogus claims of ‘educational value’,” my school has gone many times to the zoo for talks in the Education Centre and for work-shops and these have helped me make up my mind that I want to study zoology when I leave school.
Maybe I will be lucky enough to work with some of these wonderful animals. I think the zoo is a wonderful place and the animals are looked after by people who care about them and do all they can to make life good for them. Maybe Mr Boland should visit again and, this time, look at things a different way, speak to people who work there – and bring a picnic!
He might go home feeling a little better next time. – Yours, etc,