Subscribe to RSSAuck Zoo Goes Smokefree
Choice seats. Pity about any smoking
Overseas, there is a push to ban smoking in public places including at outdoor cafes and even beaches.
If you’re a non smoker (and asthmatic like me), nothing is worse than scoring an outdoor cafe table just to hit by a party of heavy smokers with the wind in the direction to get it all!
So good news from Auckland City. Could this be the start of this happening here?
The 88 year old Auckland Zoo is going smokefree from Saturday. That’s good for kids too to be in a smokefree environment.
The zoo’s new smokefree policy coincides with World Smokefree Day on Monday, 31 May and was prompted in part by recent customer feedback.
Auckland Zoo Board chairperson, Councillor Graeme Mulholland says the move to become smokefree is in alignment with the zoo’s value of creating a healthy environment.
“The zoo is a place where Aucklanders and visitors to Auckland come to see unique wildlife, and we want to make sure that their whole experience will be enjoyable. This is why the board has endorsed a smokefree policy,” he says.
The zoo has partnered with Cancer Society Auckland and the Health Sponsorship Council to launch their smokefree status.
The Cancer Society says it is great to see Auckland Zoo helping create a healthier community by joining the growing number of venues choosing to go smokefree.
Auckland Zoo visitor services manager, Natalie Hansby says that the zoo will be installing signage to communicate the new policy and does not expect much negative reaction from the 580,000 people who visit the zoo each year.
“Many of our visitors are surprised to learn that the zoo is not smokefree already.
“So while there will be an adjustment period for some, we think that this step better reflects the community’s expectations,” she says.
3 Comments
Good on them, people should have put up with smoke when enjoying the zoo. A few days ago I was at six flags outside of LA and the park was smoke free with the exception of a few designated areas, it was really nice walking around without having smoke waft into you. They also had a message repeating every so often reminding people that the park was smoke free. Lets hope more places do this.
Big ups to the Zoo. At the point when smokers can indulge their disgusting habit without me having to, in any way, inhale their by-product, then I’ll support removing all the various bans and laws and smoke-free zones that exist.
Until then, though, I’d be quite happy if they were all forced to smoke 10 metres away from any building and required to move at least 10 metres downwind of any person who asks.
Someone better tell Janie the Chimpanzee, I’ve been reliably informed she knows which keepers smoke and needs at least one a day - usually in the evenings…