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Chessington General Discussion


Ash

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I have been 3 times and I still dont know my way round properly. Not everyone is a fanboy/fanholly... What about tourists? People that havn't been to the park before?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Lols I feel special.I can't even remember the park tbh so how am I mean't to know my way round? Just because I'm kind of a fangirl doesn't mean I automatically know my way round ;)
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Chessington is facing closure if they do not improve the state of animal welfare:

At London Zoo, visitors these days marvel at the new ?5.3m Gorilla Kingdom which replicates a forest clearing and incorporates heated rocks and a waterfall. But only a few miles away, gorillas are not living in the same luxury at London's second biggest zoo, Chessington. Far from it. Two unpublished official reports obtained by The Independent under freedom of information legislation have expressed grave concern at conditions for the zoo's western lowland gorillas. The local authority has issued the theme park with an ultimatum - to build a new home for the primates, or risk losing its licence.At present the gorillas, suited to tropical rainforest in Africa, are housed in a cage with a concrete backdrop, ropes for swinging and a hay floor. Although basic by modern standards, the compound's real problem is that the zoo's breeding programme has left it housing 10 gorillas.The overcrowding has been worsened by the group's ejection of its dominant male, Kumba, who is being kept indoors when the others are outside and vice-versa. This "time share" further reduces space.The zoo's owner, the Tussauds Group, is planning a new gorilla centre at a 22-acre safari park beside a new 150-bed Holiday Inn hotel. In the short term the zoo, which attracts about a million visitors a year, intends to extend the enclosure. But the Tussauds Group, which also owns Madame Tussauds waxworks and Alton Towers, has been criticised for delaying the construction of new animals facilities in the past.Two years ago, in November 2005, inspectors for the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames said they were "most concerned" at the situation at Chessington. The zoo had still not fulfilled an essential undertaking to house the sea lions in salt water, while there was great concern at the dilapidated condition of the lion and tiger pounds, which had serious structural problems, buckled fencing, broken mesh and a defective gate.In the gorilla enclosure, keeping the silverback apart risked "destabilising" the main group, which in any case had outgrown the current internal accommodation "even allowing for the exclusion of the male".The inspectors warned: "The company must take immediate action to resolve and find a solution to this issue, and specific proposals for the future of the gorillas' enclosure should be submitted as a matter of priority to the licensing authority."The inspectors noted their great disappointment that, although Tussauds had frequently stated the importance of the animals to the zoo, proposals for a safari park that "appeared imminent" during their last inspection were still in doubt.They wrote: "This leads us to question the viability of the animal collection at Chessington."Following the report, the Tussauds Group appointed a new manager from Chester Zoo and improvements were made in the big cat and sea lion enclosures. In December 2006, an inspection was impressed by the "high standard" of animal health and welfare, but the gorillas remained a problem. The report stipulated it was "essential" they be moved and the zoo was told it would have to rehouse them by 2009 to retain its licence.As children gazed at the primates during the Easter break yesterday, Maria Hamilton, the PR manager, said Chessington had acted on the failings identified by the inspections."If you compare the two reports a lot of the things that came out in 2005 have been addressed and improved," she said."The situation with the gorillas is something we are aware of and we have put in place plans to deal with it."The fact that the gorillas were breeding was evidence that they were happy, she added.However, the Captive Animals' Protection Society said Chessington should have been shut."It's not often you hear such strong words from zoo inspectors in official reports," its campaigns manager, Craig Redmond, said. "If you were running a business and you had those kind of health and safety issues then you would be forced to close until you sorted them out."He expressed concern at the separation of the gorillas. "We have seen this situation in zoos before where animals have been isolated and their access to the outdoor area is limited."When you start locking them in indoor enclosures - which are meant as a short-term enclosure - that creates huge welfare problems and is just not acceptable."

Lets hope they sort it out
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Last Thursday (for a few hours after school) and this Tuesday I went Chessington, both great fun days:Tuesday Ride Count:Vampire x1Rattlesnake x1Tomb Blaster x1Black Buckaner x1Dragons Fury x1Carousel x1Bubbleworks x1Thursday Ride count:Ramses Revenge x2Dragons Fury x1Dragons Falls x1Tomb Blaster x2RattleSnake x1Black Buckner x1Bubbleworks x1Carousel x1Dennis Madhouse x1 (Yes me, Dann, Clara and the other 4 all got in ;))Flying Jumbos x1Dodgems x1Both VERY busy days.

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Went today, good day out, not the hottest but the sun did come out alot. Park was really empty, longest que was for dodgems which was about 5-10 minutes. Ramses broke down for about 30 minutes but then back up and running. Ride count:Dragons Fury x3 (first riders of the day)dodgems x8 (best ride ;))billys wizzer x2rameses revenge x13 (I dont know why but dann and karim wanted to keep staying on)tomb blaster x2dragons falls x1vampire x2runaway mine train x1rattlesnake x1berry bouncers x1 :Dbubbleworks x2

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  • Mattgwise changed the title to Chessington General Discussion

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