Dudley Zoo 'disheartened' by glass graffiti

Director Derek Grove said much-needed money would now have to be spent on repairs

Bosses of a West Midlands zoo say graffiti scratched into the glass of several animal enclosures is "utterly disheartening".

Staff at Dudley Zoo and Castle discovered the vandalism on Sunday, just weeks after opening to visitors.

The zoo estimates it will cost thousands of pounds to repair.

Director Derek Grove said it was "mindless vandalism which is utterly disheartening following the difficult last 12 months we've endured".

The glass was scratched on many animal enclosures, including the window of the zoo's new Southern Cassowary exhibit

"Like all zoos around the country, we were closed for the majority of the past year and managed to carry on thanks to the generosity of our visitors donating to our online fundraising page, and halting our development plans so we could continue caring and feeding for our animals," he added.

"Thankfully we've come out of the pandemic on the other side, with some financial losses, but now we're going to have to waste money repairing this damage, which only reduces the funds we have available for the care of the animals."

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Midlands Police.