Leicester Museum’s stuffed animal display set to make way for cafe

A well-known taxidermied animal exhibition at Leicester’s flagship museum is due to be closed to make way for a cafe.

The Wild Space gallery at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery currently houses about 100 animals, including lions, zebras, snakes and monkeys.

City mayor Peter Soulsby said the exhibition was looking “tired” and in need of updating.

The space is set to be replaced by a cafe in a revamp of the museum.

Leicester City Council said all the animals in the collection – most of which were preserved more than 100 years ago – will be taken away to be deep-cleaned, before being placed into storage, ready to form part of future displays.

The display will permanently close on Sunday.

Mr Soulsby said: “The current Wild Space gallery has been a popular exhibit for more than 20 years, with children of all ages enjoying looking at everything from the big cats to the small rodents on display.

“But the gallery is now looking tired, and it’s time to start planning a new natural history gallery that uses modern display techniques and updated interpretation to look at the environmental challenges facing both animals and humans.

“These plans are still under development, but the new gallery is likely to focus on key issues such as extinction and climate change.”

The council plans to create a new cafe in the area currently occupied by the Wild Space display as part of a revamp of the museum.

The new cafe would have both indoor and outdoor seating, with a new entrance on New Walk so it could stay open when the museum is closed.

A planning application for the works is due to be submitted this spring.