Three Owls: Liz returns to the zoo / sanctuary legal grey area

This letter also appeared in the Saturday, 6th March 2010 edition of the Rochdale Observer. Again, it is posted here unedited.


When is a sanctuary not a sanctuary? When it's a zoo.

About four months ago I wrote to the Observer about the words Sanctuary and zoo. Now the RMBC [Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council] have found a new word for the meaning of zoo.

A zoo is a place where injured wild birds can be taken, cared for in the hospitals and when recovered released into the wild. Congratulations RMBC but I don't think that meaning will get into the dictionaries do you?

The facts are these.

1. The zoo law was made in 1981: it was made for zoos, not charities, and when the RMBC received it they did not let Three Owls know about it.

Consequently, Three Owls carried on as usual and made it into the marvellous place it was today.

2. The guidelines for it ask councils (who issue the licences) to apply (common sense) as to what is obviously a zoo and what is not.

3. It would appear Rochdale Council has ignored this instruction.

4. An accusation was made about the sanctuary as far back as last June and the organisation Born Free came to check on it. That is their job and they can't be blamed for checking. They deal with licences.

5. RMBC have had all that time to get the Secretary of State to quash the order for Three Owls yet they chose to sit back and continue to give various options to Three Owls which were not viable.

Three Owls would have to demolish all its aviaries and rebuild them with bars round (in zoo law ducks are dangerous, crows are not) where would the 156 bird [sic] go while they did this?

And in the region of £350 000 it was impossible anyway. And in any case why do birds need bars.

6. On February 6th, Mr Nigel Fowler was informed by the council that Three Owls was a zoo not a sanctuary so the members of the trust had no other option but to close. They could not meet the demands of the council.

7. This meant that six people lost their jobs and two lost their homes as well.

Also the work experience for schools/ colleges/ universities and vets have had to be cancelled.
It is not just this. About 2000 birds were brought in each year. What will happen to those now?

Perhaps Mr Andy Glover could tell us?
Our council should be deeply ashamed.
For myself I have lived all my life in Rochdale and have been proud to be a Rochdalian but not any more.

MRS E ROBERTS

Ash Grove
Newhey