Bolton Aquarium inspection raises concerns
Updated May 2007

CAPS has welcomed the findings of a government zoo inspection that has demanded that Bolton Aquarium explain the reasons why it keeps specific species of animals.

CAPS has long criticised conditions at the council-owned aquarium and accused Bolton Council of a ‘whitewash’ after it repeatedly dismissed detailed concerns about how the animals are housed.

CAPS had monitored conditions 13 times in 6 months following complaints from members of the public and listed detailed concerns to the council, particularly in relation to a snake tank not being cleaned, an ill snake being kept on display and a one-metre long Knifefish being housed in a small tank.

Following an inspection in March, a government zoo inspector highlight several concerns including:

• The tank for the Knifefish was not big enough and needed a more enriched environment. The tank the fish was previously in was even smaller until CAPS complained about conditions;
• Queried why the aquarium has snakes. Conditions for the snakes was one of the main concerns raised by CAPS. A milksnake who appeared malnourished was kept on public display until CAPS intervened. CAPS later discovered that the snakes were often going several weeks without eating. CAPS’ twice-monthly visits revealed the poor conditions for the kingsnake, whose tank had a dirty water bowl and accumulated faeces.

CAPS commented: “Bolton Council has adopted a head-in-the-sand attitude on a public level about our concerns for the animals at the aquarium. Publicly it has repeatedly denied that there have been any problems at all while at the same time making changes to quite a few of the things that concerned us. Although we are pleased that the government inspector has also highlighted some of these problems, the changes made have been all too little and too late.

“CAPS is continuing to call for the closure of the aquarium. Not only should wild animals not be confined for public entertainment, but the conditions clearly do not meet the physical and behavioural needs of the animals and the aquarium serves no good conservation or education purpose.”

	Poorly Sinaloan milksnake still on display
	Dirty water bowl for Californian kingsnake
	Giant green knifefish in small tank
	One of the fish tanks that had no educational signs

Call for Closure of Bolton Aquarium
Original article from October 2006

The Captive Animals’ Protection Society (CAPS) has called for the closure of the Bolton Aquarium, Lancashire, after revealing shocking conditions for snakes and fish at one of the oldest public aquaria in the UK.

Following complaints made to CAPS by members of the public about conditions at the council-owned aquarium, in the basement of Bolton Museum, CAPS visited it twice recently.

Of particular concern to CAPS are:

• The health of the Sinaloan milksnake who has lost a considerable amount of weight. Aquarium staff told CAPS that the snake is elderly and has not been eating for some time. We called for this animal to be taken off display and given the necessary veterinary care immediately.

• Conditions for the Sinaloan milksnake and Californian kingsnake. On both visits by CAPS, water bowls for the snakes were found to be dirty and unsuitable in size and depth as well as virtually empty. The enclosures were also dirty. CAPS are concerned that the snakes may not be being monitored sufficiently by aquarium staff despite zoo regulations requiring all animals to be checked at least twice daily.

• The Giant green knifefish is around a metre long and housed in a tank little more than twice his body length. Many of the fish tanks provide inadequate space for the fish, with several large species displayed in small tanks.

• Signs on the tanks were very poor. Two tanks had no labels identifying the fish, while one only mentioned that the fish were from the Amazon region. Some tanks exhibiting several species of fish listed the species but had no pictures to help visitors identify the species. This has been an ongoing problem for years, with a zoo inspector writing in 2003: “As before, the aquarium falls down badly on the quality of its signage and the amount of general information given to the informal visitor.”

In 2004, a report by CAPS found that public aquaria in the UK cause serious animal welfare problems. 80% of animals in aquaria have been wild-caught, abnormal behaviour and physical health problems were observed in virtually all aquaria, and aquaria have little to do with conservation.

What you can do

The most important thing is to avoid aquaria and other zoos. For more information on why aquaria and zoos are bad for animals and for conservation see the aquaria and zoo sections of our website

If you have visited Bolton Aquarium and were concerned about conditions, contact CAPS and we will help you register your complaint with Bolton Council

Help CAPS continue our investigations and campaigns by becoming a CAPS supporter or sending a donation.