SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan zoo is removing an image of the Confederate flag from a carousel horse at the attraction.

WNEM-TV reports the decision by the Saginaw Children’s Zoo came after recent complaints about the horse on the Celebration Square Carousel, which opened in 1998.

The zoo’s executive director Nancy Parker says the carousel “is all based on history,” but she notes that “we’re not a museum, we’re a zoo, and we really are a community place.” She says that the zoo wants everyone who visits to be comfortable.

The flag’s use spurred protests since the June killing of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

The carousel includes animals made to resemble carousel figures of the early 1900s as well as panels with local historical scenes.

Information from: WNEM-TV, http://www.wnem.com