AN ELEPHANT’S paradise in Bristol is being powered through a mixture of green energy.
The Noah’s Ark enclosure in the West of England will be home to six African elephants in the next month or so.
Not only does it promise to be the largest and most friendly reserve in Europe, it will also create its own power using solar PV, biomass heating, and rainwater harvesting.
The food for the elephants will also be grown in the neighbouring fields, meaning even more carbon miles will be saved.
The £1.6m Elephant Eden attraction will have 20 acres of land on which the elephants can roam.
The owner Anthony Bush spoke to the Bristol Post.
He said: “Over the years, the standard of elephant enclosures at zoos has been so poor that the Government said unless conditions were improved zoos would simply be banned from keeping elephants. We are keen to improve the reputation of zoos, by doing this properly.
“I don’t think zoos should stop keeping elephants, they should just stop keeping elephants badly.
“Three years ago the Coalition for Captive Elephant Well-Being, an organisation run by the most experienced elephant keepers worldwide, came up with a best practice document; a guide to keeping elephants in captivity that was meant to act as a dream aspiration for zoos. But I have set out to create that best practice here for real.
“Elephant Eden is generating six new jobs, and we hope the elephants may also bring visitor numbers up by 10 or 15 per cent.”
