Wagga Zoo and Aviary's decision to close on weekdays has prompted complaints from parents.
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Wagga City Council announced on Thursday afternoon that the Botanic Gardens zoo would be opening only on weekends from 10am-3pm.
"Visitor numbers during the week are very low, so we've decided to only open on the weekends [which is when we're busiest]," the council stated on Facebook.
"We appreciate your understanding and apologise for any disappointment this change causes."
Wagga mum Janelle Moeck said it was "definitely" helpful for parents to have the option of taking their children to the zoo during the week, "especially with the new cafe opening up again".
Mrs Moeck said she used to visit the zoo every few weeks before the pandemic but "we haven't visited much lately due to it being closed".
"We did go on the weekend but yeah ... not many animals and you couldn't feed them," she said.
"So the reduction in hours doesn't mean much until the renovation is complete and animals back."
The council did not respond before publication to questions relating to how it would maintain COVID-19 health precautions, or whether zoo staff would lose working hours.
The zoo announced last month that it would be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays due to landscaping and improvement works.
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Brent Castle, owner of The Gardens Café and Function Centre in the Botanic Gardens, said the venue had not been open long enough to predict any effects on the business from the zoo's new opening days.
"I'm not too sure how it is going to affect us, obviously as we have just opened we have got a bit of a honeymoon period and there have been a lot of people coming up here even when the zoo is closed," he said.