MORRISSEY, the pop singer and animal rights activist, has called for a boycott of the world's largest chimpanzee enclosure, which is due to open at Edinburgh Zoo next month.

The former frontman of the Smiths has claimed that keeping primates in captivity is cruel and has urged parents to take their children to their local abattoir instead “for a lesson that no kid would ever forget”.

Morrissey, a vegan who has previously backed violence by extremists against scientists and companies involved in medical research using animals, dismissed claims that the £6m Budongo Trail enclosure would help educate the public about the plight of chimpanzees in the wild and provide a stimulating environment for the animals.

“If the Budongo Trail at Edinburgh Zoo is such a stimulating highlight, then why don't the zoo staff live in it instead?” he said. “How long would they last without cracking up? An hour? Yet they expect the chimps to be delighted and buoyant? Would you be? People just cannot leave animals alone, can they?

“Animals survived quite well for millions of years without any human intervention, culling or incarceration. If parents want to take their kids to Edinburgh Zoo to learn something about animals, then they should take them along to a local abattoir instead to show them where their lovely food comes from - that's a lesson no kid would ever forget.”

In 2006, Morrissey said terror tactics were justified against those who conducted animal experiments because they had brought it upon themselves. He also singled out proudly carnivorous television chefs Jamie Oliver and Clarissa Dickson Wright as enemies of the animal rights movement.

Bosses at Edinburgh Zoo hope the enclosure will prove a popular attraction for the 650,000 visitors they receive each year and allow them to develop a successful breeding programme for captive primates.

Last week, Edinburgh Zoo defended the enclosure. “The Budongo Trail has been designed to provide an environment that will stimulate the primates, both indoors and out, and allow us to develop a successful breeding programme,” said David Windmill, chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the zoo's owner.

Times Recommends

• Sarah Brown says 'no thanks' to veal at G8 - twice
• Stockton-on-Tees is obesity capital of Britain
• Stores blame poor sales on Murray factor