Volunteers in Bournemouth seek new aviary for exotic birds

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Richard Slee

Volunteers looking after more than 400 exotic birds in Bournemouth are calling on the public to help raise funds for a new aviary.

There has been an aviary in the town's Lower Gardens for more than a century, but the 40 year old structure is in need of replacement.

The birds would not survive in the wild as they are all non-native rescue birds, some brought in from as far away as London and Brighton.

If they were released, they would risk being taken by birds of prey.

So far the Bournemouth Parks Foundation has raised more than £160,000 of its £200,000 target.

The current structure is the third that has been on the site since the aviary was founded in 1919.

It is hoped the new structure would be larger and more circular, so the birds have more space to fly.

If the volunteers meet their target, construction will start in the spring.