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The Great Britain Guide

Zoos & aquariums · South West England

Wild Planet Trust

Wild Planet Trust, formerly known as the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT), is a registered charity, set up to run Paignton Zoo after the death of its founder, Herbert Whitley, who establishe

Leat alongside Paignton Community College, Totnes Road - geograph.org.uk - 2827499

Tom Jolliffe — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
3 h–5 h

About

Wild Planet Trust, formerly known as the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT), is a registered charity, set up to run Paignton Zoo after the death of its founder, Herbert Whitley, who established the zoo on his estate at Primley, Paignton in Devon in the 1920s. Wild Planet Trust also owns runs several local nature reserves in Devon, including Slapton Ley. Since 2003 it has owned and operated Newquay Zoo and Living Coasts, the latter of which closed in June 2020. All three of the Trust zoos works within the BIAZA, EAZA and WAZA zoo networks in Britain, Europe and the World as well as having ex situ conservation links overseas. In 2025, the Trust announced it was selling both Paignton and Newquay Zoo due to financial difficulties. It was announced in December 2025 that Dutch leisure company Libéma had purchased both Paignton and Newquay Zoos, with plans to invest £10 million over the next two years.

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From the Wikipedia article

Wild Planet Trust, formerly known as the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT), is a registered charity, set up to run Paignton Zoo after the death of its founder, Herbert Whitley, who established the zoo on his estate at Primley, Paignton in Devon in the 1920s. Wild Planet Trust also owns runs several local nature reserves in Devon, including Slapton Ley. Since 2003 it has owned and operated Newquay Zoo and Living Coasts, the latter of which closed in June 2020. All three of the Trust zoos works within the BIAZA, EAZA and WAZA zoo networks in Britain, Europe and the World as well as having ex situ conservation links overseas. In 2025, the Trust announced it was selling both Paignton and Newquay Zoo due to financial difficulties. It was announced in December 2025 that Dutch leisure company Libéma had purchased both Paignton and Newquay Zoos, with plans to invest £10 million over the next two years.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Coordinates
50.4289, -3.5844

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is Wild Planet Trust?
Wild Planet Trust is in South West England, in the United Kingdom — coordinates 50.4289°, -3.5844°.