But here’s a reminder of what it used to be like.
14. Daniel Birchinall, aged three, cuddles Coco, a Capuchin monkey, in one of the last pictures at Haigh Zoo as its closure was announced in February 1992
. Photo: FO
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Remember when: Wigan had a zoo at Haigh Hall
By Charles Graham
Published 9th Jul 2024, 15:45 BST
More than three decades have now passed by since Wigan’s Haigh Zoo closed, and while it never rivalled the massive menagerie at Chester and eventually closed due to funding cuts and the feeling that it had become rather non-PC, it is still remembered fondly. The site would briefly be replaced by a model village and thereafter lay dormant, until plans were unveiled to turn it into a visitor attraction and learning centre.