Botanic Gardens volunteer Ann Cobham told audiences across the North West that closing the Botanic Gardens Aviary “would be devastating for the whole community”.
Ann, the Botanic Gardens Community Association Gardens Co-ordinator, who has been leading volunteers in looking after the park in Churchtown for the past 15 years, was among people interviewed on BBC North West this evening.
The BBC TV crew came to the park today to seek people’s views as nearly 16,000 have signed petitions calling for the aviary to remain open, after Sefton Council said it is due to close the 87-year-old attraction early in the new year.
Speaking to reporter Mairead Smyth, Ann Cobham said: “If this aviary closes, this will be devastating, not just for me, but for the whole of the community.
“I would say to Sefton Council that the most humane action you could do for these birds would be to leave them in their home where they’re safe, happy, well-fed and well looked after by the vets.”
Sefton Council said last week that it is closing the aviary because “the facility is simply no longer in the best interests of the animals who are kept there”, saying it is backed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in this assertion.
Speaking to BBC North West, Reuban Skeats from PETA said: “We would argue that a public display isn’t really the right place for these animals at all.
“The most responsible thing then becomes finding an appropriate wildlife sanctuary ideally where they;re not on public display.”
Local residents disagreed with this view today, with Mairead Smyth sharing her view that “If today was anything to go by, this place is cherished by the people who visit.”
One member of the public told her: “I love coming here because of the birds and I am really hoping and praying they don’t close it.”
Another said: “I think it’s disgusting. Absolutely disgusting what the council wants to do. And they need to give their heads a wobble.”
Another said: “I think it’s an attraction locally and we should keep it.”
Southport MP Patrick Hurley, who has organised two well-attended public meetings to try and discover solutions to save the aviary, also spoke to BBC North West.
He believes some funding can be utilised from the local authority’s adult social care budget due to the positive impact the aviary has on people’s mental health.
He said: “The adult care budget is going on care homes, it is going on people’s care packages and there should be a way forward, of pooling resources across different council departments.
“The aviary isn’t just a nice thing to have. It’s also a mental health support for a lot of people.”
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