GLASGOW Zoo has been given 21 days to put its animal houses in order

or risk being closed down.

The zoo's management was given the ultimatum yesterday after being

carpeted by the Glasgow District Council's licensing committee.

The committee chairman, Councillor John Moynes, said that members

planned to visit the zoo in three weeks' time to assess progress. If the

right standards were not being achieved, the zoo's licence would be

revoked, he said.

The council's director of veterinary services, Mr John Anderson,

accompanied by two inspectors nominated by the Secretary of State, made

a routine inspection at Calderpark last October under the Zoo Licensing

Act 1981.

''We were all quite concerned about the state of things,'' Mr Anderson

told yesterday's council meeting. A list of required improvements was

drawn up and discussed with Mr Richard O'Grady, the zoo's director.

However, the zoo opened up at Easter for its 1994 season with scarcely

any of the improvements having been carried out, Mr Anderson said.

Questioned by councillors, he said: ''It is difficult to suggest that

animals are 'suffering' but the accommodation requirements under the

legislation guidelines are not being met.''

Mr Anderson noted that a great deal of public money had been invested

in the park in recent years. ''Despite this,'' he said, ''the place is

pretty run-down and some of the buildings are getting a bit grotty.''

Councillor James Coleman

(Lab) said: ''Maybe we should investigate just how all this money was

spent.''

Solicitor Audrey Ferrie appeared before the committee representing the

zoo society and accompanied by Mr O'Grady. She told councillors: ''It

was not the intention to flout any regulations.''

For the first time in its history the zoo had decided to close down

during the winter to make it easier for a big programme of upgrading

work to be carried out, she said.

However, the work had been delayed by the exceedingly wet winter

weather and by other unforeseen factors. In one instance, she said, work

within the monkey house could not be carried out because a monkey was

having a baby and zoo staff did not wish to disturb it.

Headway had now been made, though, and she was confident that the

work, and all the council's requirements, would be completed by the end

of this week.

After the meeting Mr O'Grady said: ''I'm sorry that this has happened.

There are major changes going on at the zoo and there have been great

crowds in recent weeks.''

The zoo's annual running costs are #700,000 with about half its income

coming in the form of public sector grants. Glasgow district contributes

#105,000 a year.