A group of residents have protested a proposed zoo in Nottinghamshire. On Sunday, February 12, around 10 residents gathered outside Trowell Parish Hall to protest the plans for the zoo and highlight their reasons why with those attending a marketing event organised by the applicant.
Several of the protesters in attendance poured soil and planted shrubs inside the hall to demonstrate their view that building a zoo on a wildlife site, greenbelt land and floodplain makes as much sense as indoor rewilding. The proposed location for the zoo is on green belt land adjacent to the River Erewash.
This site is known as the Trowell Junction Local Wildlife Site due to its nature conservation value. The protestors argue that the proposed layout of the zoo would fragment existing habitats while placing animal enclosures and footpaths on the functional flood plain of the River Erewash.
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The campaigners say that the proposal of the ‘Broxtowe Retreat’ is a great concern to locals, due to the biodiversity loss, flood risk, spread of zoonotic disease, animal welfare, health and safety, and access to the site. Aimee Smith, 24, an MSc in Endangered Species Recovery and Conservation and a local resident, said: "It really concerns me that, in the midst of an ecological emergency and ongoing attack on nature from all sides, the Local Council is considering approving plans that would decimate the wildlife habitat on a site that is not only greenbelt land, but is also assigned as a Local Wildlife Site.
“If these plans are approved, it really does show how out of touch we are with the fact that humans are dependent on nature and wildlife for our survival, and also that nowhere can be considered a safe refuge for wild animals. The past few months have highlighted how valuable and precious the limited resources on this planet are, and displacing wildlife to develop non-essential infrastructure in a flood zone is not a smart use of them.”
The protestors state that the current habitats on the site are suitable for legally protected species, such as badgers, otters, hedgehogs and bats. The campaigners argue that the Biodiversity Impact Assessment was carried out at the wrong time of year to survey some of these species, and that residents in the area have disputed some of the findings.
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