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Accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the Belfast Zoo website: www.belfastzoo.co.uk. This website is run by Belfast City Council.

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand and it is approved by Plain English Campaign (link opens in new window) on an annual basis.

My Computer My Way has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement.

Should you need any help with carrying out a task on our website, contact Belfast Zoo on 028 9077 6277 or email [email protected].

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We want to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, email us at [email protected].

Tell us what part of the website you are visiting, what you are trying to do and what is preventing you from doing what you need to do. If possible, tell us what device and which browser you’re using. We will get back to you within three working days.

Read tips on contacting organisation about inaccessible websites.

As part of our commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and good relations, we want to make sure everyone can access this website. You can get all our webpages in different languages and formats by:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within ten working days.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) (link opens in new window) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (link opens in new window) (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your request or complaint, call ECNI on 028 9050 0600 and ask to speak with one of their Discrimination Advice Officers in their Legal Division, or email [email protected].

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Find out how to contact us.

We provide a video relay service for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment. You can access this online or at Belfast Zoo. Find out more about this service.

Belfast Zoo has audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreter.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Belfast City Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (link opens in a new window).

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed is non-accessible for these reasons:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Automated testing issues

Belfast City Council makes use of automated tooling to assist with accessibility issue identification. An accessibility report on 10 July 2024 from the ‘Silktide’ testing tool has identified the following issues.

  • Some controls do not change appearance when they are selected. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA). This issue affects our search icon.
  • Some form controls do not have sufficient contrast with their surroundings. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (AA) and 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA). This affects our search bar on our search page.
  • One page uses the same link text for different destinations which fails WCAG 2.0 A 2.4.4. This occurs on our Education programmes page and relates to the downloadable documents.

We have reviewed the issues identified in the last audit and have split those into actions we can solve, and actions that require changes by our supplier. We plan to address these issues by 1 November 2024, and provide regular updates about our suppliers’ roadmap for fixes.

If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Reporting accessibility problems with this website’ section of this statement.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

At this time, we have not identified any content that is not within scope of the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are using automated checks to alert us if something falls below the standard.

We commissioned a manual accessibility audit of our websites in August 2023. We carried out a retest in November 2023 and are implementing these changes.

We contact our suppliers to assess their compliance with the legislation. We are also approaching organisations that request we publish their documents on our website, to discuss how we can present their information in an accessible way.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 21 September 2021. It was last reviewed on 26 July 2024.

This website was last tested on 26 July 2024. We carried out our own testing using automated accessibility testing tool Silktide. We scanned 292 pages and nine documents on this site.

Bring learning to life with our interactive education sessions

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