Anger as town's fun animal safari is branded an 'environmental disaster'

Melksham Town Council has hit back after protestors accused its 'family fun' idea to keep children busy during the summer holidays of being an 'environmental disaster'.

Last week, the council installed an animal safari trail around the town as a free activity, with six installations made from artificial grass for kids to find.

However, the use of plastic grass to create the animals drew fierce criticism from environmentalists and a protest against the installation has grown support.

Melksham resident and horticultural consultant Charlotte Howard tied banners with the word "This is killing me" and "Plastic grass sucks" around the six green animal statues.

Charlotte says she worked closely with fellow campaigners Plastics Rebellion to create a protest that it describes as "respectful" and "did not damage the animals".

She said: “It was a great opportunity to engage the families coming to see the animals, the response was extremely positive on the day and I hope we have managed to make a few people think twice before they think of laying plastic in their garden.

“We loved the animal safari and thought it could have been so much more enjoyable if made from living plants. We were also concerned to hear that the town council, while not funding the project themselves, were pressured to accept the animals on behalf of the town.

"We hope we have stimulated some useful awareness and conversation about plastic grass as a result of this action."

However, the town council has confirmed that not only did it spend "zero funds" on the initiative, but that it had thoughtfully considered the choice to go ahead with the safari trail.

In a statement, the council said they had weighed up the "age-old moral question" of balancing human pleasure with environmental damage.

It also said the animals would be in use throughout the year across other towns and cities in the country.

A spokesperson for Melksham council said "I would like to confirm to residents that MTC has spent zero funds on this initiative. It forms part of a grant from Westminster via Wiltshire Council and the services have been provided directly as part of this grant."

They went on to add: "There is an age-old moral question that all of us have to reckon with when pursuing human pleasure while deciding on the amount of environmental damage we consider acceptable.

"We think it is positive that these green animals have sparked this debate, because at its core - these animals represent the cost/benefit decisions that we all have to make every day."