#MarineWildlife - More than 3,000 marine animals could be destroyed if plans to close Northern Ireland's only aquarium go ahead, it has emerged.
UTV News reports that Ards Borough Council voted last night (25 September) to delay the closure of the Exploris aquarium and seal sanctuary in Portaferry, Co Down for two months in the hopes of securing necessary funding from Stormont - and in the face of mounting protest against the closure plans.
But the centre has not ruled out killing off its collection of 3,307 marine creatures if the shutters come down for good, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
It's also claimed by pressure group Marine Conservation Northern Ireland that juveniles born in captivity at the facility are already being culled - though this has been strenuously denied by Ards Borough Council.
Exploris was opened as the Northern Ireland Aquarium in 1987 and operated by the council ever since, though the economic downturn led to a funding crisis made worse when an intended private investor, Livingstone Leisure, pulled out of a management deal over pension arrangements.
UTV News has much more on the story HERE.