'If I wanted to see meerkats, I would have gone to a zoo' — St Andrews Aquarium under fire
One of Fife's top tourist attractions, the St Andrews Aquarium, has come under fire for having ''no interesting fish.''
They have the cuteness factor, but should an aquarium keep meerkats?
- By Alan Wilson
- Published in the Courier : 04.01.12
- Published online : 04.01.12 @ 11.24am
A Dundee mum who took her 10-year-old son to the attraction over the holidays said she was shocked to see the lack of exhibits and was just as susprised to see meerkats there.
The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: ''My husband and I decided to take our son and we were looking forward to seeing the fish. But there were no rays, no seahorses and no sharks.
''They seem to have done away with a lot. There were no big fish, only wee fish, and we found it really disappointing.
''I don't get it — it used to be really great. It's a small, local place and it was always good before.
''What got me was the fact there are meerkats there. What's that all about? Just because they're all over TV in the adverts does that mean they are more interesting than fish?
''If I wanted to see meerkats, I would have gone to a zoo.
''There were quite a lot of tanks empty. I don't know if they are in the process of getting more fish in, but I certainly won't be taking my son back there in a hurry, so Edinburgh might gain.
''We wished we had gone to the Sea Life Centre there. It would have been a much better day out.''
Staff at the St Andrews Aquarium have apologised to the woman and say the lack of exhibits is temporary as they prepare for the summer programme and new exhibits will be arriving later this month.
A spokeswoman said: ''We're truly sorry to hear that this one family have not enjoyed their recent visit to St Andrews Aquarium. We are home to literally hundreds of tropical fish, young black tip reef sharks, frogs, seals, octupus, seahorses, eels as well as our meerkats, all of which are extremely popular with the tens of thousands of visitors who come to the aquarium every year.
''However, it is currently low season for the aquarium and a time of year when we have traditionally taken the time to develop the aquarium's offering in advance of the busier summer months. As a result, we are currently in the process of upgrading a number of our exhibits in anticipation of the arrival of several new animals later in January.
''It is very likely that they may have seen these empty exhibits under construction. These new exhibits will soon be filled with a number of additions, including Scotland's largest bearded dragon enclosure, a new snake exhibit featuring a boa constrictor, lizards and an enhanced sea horse exhibit.''
01.56pm - 04.01.2012 Frank - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Rubbish it's been like that for ages now. They removed a really great aquarium to make room for the Meerkats which seems exceptionally stupid given it bills itself as an aquarium. This attraction despareatly needs some upgrading if it is going to survive.
08.54pm - 04.01.2012 Mark - Dunfermline, Fife Report This
Rubbish. I was there with my daughter last year and was shocked to see that the Meerkats had suddenly become the big attraction. Tanks were empty, the biggest tank stood out though as it had one fish swimming about on it's own. Angers me the staff are being forced to lie about the lack of sealife
04.01pm - 05.01.2012 James - Dundee, Scotland Report This
Went a few years back and found the place dark and dingy, much prefer visiting a fish shop and looking around this.
07.14am - 07.01.2012 Brian - Dundee, UK Report This
Deep Sea World in North Queensferry is not a "Sea Life Centre" like the St Andrews Aquarium used to be, but part of another chain. when "Sea Life" moved out, that's when St Andrews went downhill.
02.08pm - 19.01.2012 Alice - Dundee, Scotland Report This
I went to the Aquarium last week and the woman must be blind, there were 2 sharks, seahorses and lots of lovely fish. The meerkats are a bit out of place, but Edinburgh Aquarium have Spiders and lizards too! I miss the ray tank and the old seal, but everything looked clean and the staff were lovely
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