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
Tom Jolliffe — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 3 h–5 h
- Family-friendly
- Limited wheelchair access
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.
Photo gallery
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.
Background
History
Herbert was born into a family of considerable means; his father, Edward Whitley, was the owner of a brewery empire and also the MP for Liverpool. Edward Whitley died in 1892 when Herbert was six and, like many children of well-to-do Victorian families, he was sent away to boarding school. In 1904, when Herbert was 18, Edwards's widow, Eleanor, moved her family south to Paignton, where they took over the Primley Estate. Herbert and his older brother William were well known locally as breeders of prizewinning livestock, although it was in 1910, with the arrival of his first monkeys, that the seeds were sown for what was to become Paignton Zoo. In 1921, Herbert discovered that the coastal…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 50.4289, -3.5844
- District
- Torbay
- Parish
- Torbay, unparished area
- Postcode
- TQ4 7EU
- Parliamentary constituency
- Torbay
Sources
- wikipedia: Wild Planet Trust (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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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°.
- Is Wild Planet Trust wheelchair accessible?
- Partially — OpenStreetMap notes limited wheelchair access at Wild Planet Trust. Check ahead for specific facilities.