Manchester Zoo lines up 100-acre Rochdale home

Madagascar comes to Middleton, love it!!

Bet someone’s going to moan about traffic etc. “Our vets is full enough already without all these new animals coming in, how will I get an appointment for my Cockerpoo now!”

If you want to see wild animals just go to Piccadilly Gardens

I just had to check the calendar to make sure it’s not April 1st

Building a prison for animals in 2020 will be difficult

Beautiful native animals of Manchester? Mancs?.

As a Slattocks resident, I actually find this news quite exciting.

This would be brilliant

Wow what a wonderful idea. .conservation of our animals are an important step to preserve our species and to educate people not to hurt kill or maim animals they have a right to live as well.

“You will get the chance to meet some of the beautiful native animals of Manchester”

Rats and grey squirrels?!

Fantastic idea for the are

Wonderful idea and project for Middleton and Manchester certainly put the area on the map being near to railways and motorways a new era on the horizon

Brilliant . Better than houses .

Another animal prison? What year are we in! Expect the words Conservation & Education to litter the bid. It’s all a con, basically crap.

You’re having a laugh

This must be an April 1st hoax! Utterly preposterous, yet another hair brained scheme from RBC. Have their brains become completely addled? TOTALLY opposed to this proposal.

Will be lovely

Great News

This site is already home to rare species and ancient woodland, should we not be protecting what little we have left?

Animals should not be caged up & out of their natural environment for the gratification of humans. It is so cruel.

Your gonna have zoo? My god are you living in the 19th century. That’s just too unbelievable for words. It just goes to show that without gorgeous George and dodgy Dave, Manchester regresses. I won’t wish you luck with that one

Brilliant. This might get the public transport improved. Like trains to and from manchester oh and a better bus service

I can’t believe someone is wanting to build a zoo they are terrible for the animals and are incredibly cruel if you want to see wild animals watch David Attenborough

This is the WORST news I’ve heard in many years. I honestly can’t believe this is happening. Let’s hope it doesn’t go ahead.

Zoo = Prison.
Inexcusable they’re still building these things in this day and age. If they really gave a toss about wildlife, give the money to the countries the animals should be living in, it would go a lot further…

Manchester doesn’t want a zoo. I will OBJECT TO THIS..ZOOS ARE TORTURE CHAMBERS. ANIMALS DON’T BELONG IN SMALL ENCLOSURES. ROAM FREE PARKS LIKE KNOWSLEY WE WILL ACCEPT.

Sorry but at the age of 77 I was thinking we’d seen the back of ogling at animals in zoos

Iam sure þhe homeless will be so happy to know animal’s from all over the world take residence over them

It’s 2020.. i thought we were getting past the exploitation of animals? ? I homestly had to cehck it wasn’t April 1st cause this is a joke

Absolute rubbish Manchester do not need a prison for animals to be put into enclosures for profit! Life time of hell behind bars

This is a step backwards, exploiting animals in this way, oh how we treat god’s creatures for our enjoyment.

There is already Chester Zoo, there is no need for another, inferior zoo

The world needs animal sanctuaries, not zoos. Animals suffer stress and zoochosis in zoos. Ogled day by day by the public in unnatural settings. Look to the Born Free foundation and Sheldrick Wildlife for organisations that truly support the care of wild animals. I’m very disappointed to hear about this new zoo.

Too many animals, not enough bike lanes.

As long as they include a dinosaur safari, I’m happy.

Fantastic idea for a zoo. Sure, some people are against them, and that’s great for your opinion and all, but huge other numbers love them. Just looking at attendences in zoo’s across the world, we can still see how popular they are. The biggest problem here is that Chester Zoo is so close and so popular, plus a lion safari park nearby. This will be smaller and there is another zoo north of Manchester in Blackpool. This will need a Metrolink stop nearby for it to compete against the other zoos and safar park which are car dependent.

Unbelievable. Why not throw in some wind turbines and a bit of fracking or perhaps a prison. It’s ridiculous.

I personally think it would be one of Rochdale’s most positive decisions they have made, hope they give the go ahead for a zoo! This would bring revenue as well as put Rochdale on the map for families. It was such a shame Bell Vue zoo had to close many year ago.

Manchester nor anywhere else does NOT need a zoo. CAPTIVITY kills. Conservation like this does not work. Please reconsider.

There is absolutely no need to have another captive animal facility. Zoos do not educate people about animals, they just teach kids st an inpressanavle age that it’s ok to incarcerate animals. That humans have the right, because we have the means and the power, to exploit them for our own amusement. It is not fair to hold animals in unnatural enclosures, feeling stressed and anxious and not leading the life they want and deserve. Please fo not allow this facility to be granted permission. It would be a step backwards when the world is finally waking up to animal rights and welfare

Animals do not belong in captivity. There is nothing educational about zoos.

We do not need another animal prison

We don’t need another zoo no more animal prisons so just greedy people can make money out of wild animals

Zoos are cruel full stop-even’breeding programmes’domestic animals are abused’-there is enough information online,without caging an animal.I don’t need to take my family to visit and see lions and giraffes in a zoo-in the middle if rochdale it has nothing to do with an animal up close.if i was desperate to see a giraffe i would move to africa.Promote respect for our wildlife and pets

No,no,It’s frightening and so wrong-Belle vue existed when people didn’t know any better or care.Rochdale doesn’t need animals trapped in a zoo-a depressing word on it’s own.I just hope more people get onto this issue

#captivityiscruel

It’s ironic that a piece of countryside with a functioning ecosystem with native species could be lost in the name of conservation education.

Great idea, hope it goes through. If they do annual passes then sign me up.

Love to see a Animals Zoo in Rochdale for the kids *

I remember Bellevue Zoo in Manchester. I ride the lovely elephant as a child – have lived elephants ever since.

The elephant at Belle Vue was called Mary of Ceylon.

Great news for Middleton and slattocks, what a boost for the area, anything that brings jobs and education in animals and inspiration for young vets has got to be good, so many kids don’t have a chance to bond and understand animals from a round the world, and the how difficult it is for them to servive in this world,like monkey world in Dorset has done a great job to increase awareness and the mistreatment of monkeys around the world, and rase fund to help them, bring it on

Please do not open a zoo. We call ourselves a progressive country and yet we are considering bringing animals that do not belong in Manchester here to put behind bars in the name of education and conservation. Let’s face it this is about making money only without any thought for the animals’ welfare. Our planet is dying, but instead of re-wilding the area, growing trees and allowing natural wildlife to re-establish itself, you’re considering a concrete jungle that will mean killing animals whilst clearing the land to say nothing of the resources in building it. Please reconsider this, it’s a bad idea and it’s bigger and braver to admit that know and do something worthwhile instead. Thanks

Hopwood Woods are a Nature Reserve. It’s beautiful and peaceful. I have lived near the Woods for many years. I really worry about our native wild life if the zoo is built. Carnage and concrete does not appeal at all. DO NOT BUILD THIS ZOO. Stop seeing £ signs for once.

How do you apply for a job

So are you going to build on woodland, a nature reserve and greenbelt? Is this a proper definition of conservation?