Farm reveals plan for £500,000 penguin pool

3rd June 2012 

More holidaymakers could soon be winging their way to Pembrokeshire, if a planning application for a penguin pool at one of the county’s most popular visitor attractions is approved.
Folly Farm has applied to construct the pool and, if approved, visitors will be able to view up to 20 homboldt penguins in a specially developed environment.

The penguin pool development represents an investment of more than £500,000 and would create two full time jobs, two part time jobs and four seasonal jobs.

Folly Farm project managing director Chris Ebsworth said: “It’s a really exciting project that we’ve been working on for about three years and now it is at its final stages.
“The marine environment we are hoping to create is called a life support system and it’s extremely difficult to create a salt water system.

It’s good for the birds and breeding and they will be part of a managed breeding programme.”
If approved, the development would take around six to eight months to complete.
He added: “Penguins really capture people’s imagination, I think it’s because they’re quite odd looking animals but they’re really busy and always doing something.”

He said the biggest problems would be securing the penguins from other zoos and sourcing the huge amounts of fish they need to feed, with two tonnes of stock needed at all times.
As well as attracting more visitors, Mr Ebsworth said there was also a lot of scope for education, especially with the county’s schools.

He said the major investment was part of Folly Farm’s policy to reinvest all profits back into the business, but said that people’s expectations were getting higher.
“We can’t stand still, we have to keep putting something back in.”
Despite the difficult financial climate, Mr Ebsworth said visitor numbers at Folly Farm are up on this time last year.

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