Young People Unearthing their Heritage Project

Barry Zoo

27 April 2021 · Jo

Twin brothers Hugh and George Palmer opened the zoo in 1960. It started off small but rapidly expanded. At one point the zoo housed tigers, elephants, lions, emus, camels, bears, pumas and many more.

Advert for Barry Zoo

Advert for Barry Zoo

In 1977 George Palmer was arrested for attending a council meeting with one of the tigers from the zoo. George was unhappy that the decision had been made to decline planning permission to expand one of the enclosures. This incident happened at a time when the zoo was facing closure due to mounting financial problems.

George Palmer & tiger attending Council meeting

The zoo continued to stay open to the public until 1980 when due to changes in animal regulations and a lack of funding, the zoo had no choice but to close.

The site is now the home of the Welsh Hawking Centre and has a large selection of birds of prey.

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