South Lakes Safari Zoo is set to be inspected following reports of concern for animal welfare.
A team of Barrow Council officers and a government zoo inspector will attend the zoo on November 17.
Born Free’s report claimed:
- Herd animals such as zebras were isolated in individual cages
- A bear was found exhibiting signs of zoochosis
- A bucket of raw meat was spotted covered in flies
- Rats were seen mixing with the animals
- Giraffes had overgrown and curved hooves
- Some animals had no outdoor access during the day and had no bedding
- Heat provisions were unsuitable
The council said allegations made by the animal charity would be fully investigated as part of the inspection. The zoo’s in-house vet will be interviewed and animal records examined.
A council spokesman said: “We have acted quickly following concerns being raised about animal welfare at the South Lakes Safari Zoo. Availability issues with the qualified Defra zoo inspector mean our inspection will be carried out later than we would have hoped.”
The zoo’s licence was agreed for a further six years in 2021 with some additional conditions and directions placed on it from a formal inspection.
Council officers visited the zoo and undertook an annual informal inspection in February which looked at whether conditions had been met and directions complied with.
Animal welfare was not flagged as an issue, although one of the directions did relate to drainage of the Africa Paddock which needs to be resolved by December this year.
The Cumbria Zoo Company, which runs the zoo, said it was committed to caring for them.
Samantha Brewer, of the Cumbria Zoo Company, said: “The allegations are of the utmost seriousness. We refute all allegations made by the Born Free Foundation from their visit to the zoo of October 17 and their subsequent report on their website.
“We welcome Born Free and any opinions on the zoo, Born Free are an organisation that stands for what they believe and we have nothing but respect for that, and the principles on which the organisation is built.
“In 2022 species are disappearing right left and centre and zoos are at the forefront of trying to, and successfully changing, that. Our team recently returned from a trip to see first hand where anti poaching dogs, trained here at Cumbria zoo, together with their handlers and on the ground NGOs are actually making a significant stance in the fight to reduce wildlife eradication.
“During our trip, a leading conservationist told our staff soon the only way a child in South Africa will see a rhino with a horn is in a zoo, God forbid this turns out to be the case. This zoo, like others, are committed in 2022 and beyond to direct conservation on the ground, and to enriching the lives of the much loved animals in our care.
“The report contains inaccurate presumptions and, understandably, inaccurate clinical assessment. Cumbria Zoo has, in our last four years, been inspected by over 35 government appointed independent inspectors with the overwhelming outcomes of those inspections being hugely positive, and the continuing progress we make here at Safari Zoo recognised.”
