Return Belfast Zoo's animals to their natural habitats within 5 years - that's the call from Sinn Fein as they claim attraction costs ratepayers £2.5 million per year

Feb 04, 2020, 10:09 AM

Last night Sinn Fein's council motion on the future of Belfast Zoo was referred to the a council sub-committee for consideration. Currently the council subsidises the zoo at a cost of £2.5m each year and Sinn Fein councillor Conor Maskey has called for the site to be transformed into a "world class visitor attraction" which would not include what he describes as the 'wrong' and 'unethical' practice of displaying caged animals. What should be the future of the zoo? Stephen spoke to Sinn Fein councillor Conor Maskey, Alliance Party councillor Nuala McAllister, travel writer and commentator Tim Hedgley and animal rights campaigner Daniel Barclay.