Telford's Exotic Zoo confirms opening date at new town park venue
Telford's popular Exotic Zoo is ready to reopen later this month, with a new base - more than 18 months since it closed its doors.
The Exotic Zoo has confirmed it will be opening its new Telford Town Park venue on Saturday, July 24.
The move comes after it closed its doors at its previous premises in Priorslee in January 2020, then the impact of the pandemic delayed plans to open its new town centre venue.
Owner Scott Adams said the attraction had received its zoo licence after inspections, and was now looking forward to welcoming the public to its new home for the first time.
He said: "All the hard work we have put in to build the zoo from scratch and then to have the licence officers looking at everything we do is daunting, so we are very happy that we got amazing feedback from the inspectors on what we are doing, not just with the animals but the education and conservation."
Mr Adams said the opening would be the end of an emotional journey in creating the zoo's new home.
He added: "I find it hard to put into words just what the journey has been like. In December before the pandemic we found out we could not stay where we were, so to have that and try and move during the pandemic, which wiped out every bit of income, we had the biggest challenge, it could not have been bigger.
"It just makes it all the sweeter. We are proud the zoo looks amazing and we are excited for people to come and see what we can do."
Mr Adams said the animals were looking forward to seeing visitors too, adding: "It is quite funny to see, every time you come round the corner to the desert zone the meerkats they run over just wanting to see people. You can tell the animals have missed having people around."
Mr Adams praised the efforts of staff at the zoo in getting the venue ready, and the 85 volunteers who help out.
