Zoo faces animal welfare and bullying allegations

A BBC probe has heard allegations of avoidable carnal deaths, payment issues and a bullying civilization astatine a zoo wherever a keeper was mauled to decease successful 2013.

South Lakes Safari Zoo successful Cumbria was taken implicit by a caller committee of directors successful 2017, who promised to alteration things for the better.

But erstwhile employees, who said they continued to person superior concerns astir conditions astatine the zoo, person shown the BBC photos and videos which they accidental picture injuries and fatalities to animals.

Zoo bosses contradict "each and each allegation" and constituent to dozens of positive, autarkic inspections.

Warning: This nonfiction contains images of injuries to animals immoderate readers whitethorn find distressing.

South Lakes, which has had a troubled past, hails itself arsenic a haven for exotic animals.

The attraction astatine Dalton-in-Furness was threatened with closure successful 2017 portion nether the ownership of David Gill. The RSPCA launched an probe and the Captive Animals’ Protection Society urged the section assembly to revoke the zoo's licence pursuing a bid of carnal fatalities and different failures.

In that year, Mr Gill was refused a licence and a caller operator, Cumbria Zoo Company Limited (CZCL), was formed from the aged owner’s committee of directors. It promised improvements, won praise from inspectors for a "change of culture" and remains successful complaint to the contiguous day.

When it took implicit the zoo, the caller company's main enforcement Karen Brewer told the BBC the committee had made "dramatic changes".

But six radical who worked astatine South Lakes astatine assorted times betwixt 2017 and 2022, speaking to the BBC connected information of anonymity, each accidental large problems persisted. Their claims are denied by CZCL.

"Nothing changed nether this caller absorption and animals suffered greatly," said a erstwhile idiosyncratic who we are calling Jane.

She near successful 2019 having witnessed carnal deaths that "could person been avoided", months earlier a council inspection raised nary concerns.

The BBC has seen astir 60 photographs and videos which person not antecedently been made public. They were taken betwixt 2017 and 2019 by unit who accidental they include:

• A zebra lying injured connected the level with its hoof stuck successful the bars of its pen. Ex-staff claimed it was stressed aft being kept indoors, portion absorption ignored the keeper's proposal to fto it out. It was aboriginal enactment down;
• A capybara covered successful cuts caused by warring successful overcrowded spaces;
• A giraffe with a bloodied caput from injuring itself connected the bars of its pen during nationalist feeding sessions.

"Fighting" and "inbreeding" were communal due to the fact that "animals were housed successful inappropriate societal groups", Jane said.

"Overstocking of animals led to persistent bullying… terrible injuries and often deaths."

Mark, who worked astatine South Lakes successful 2022, said immoderate animals would person meals restricted "so they'd beryllium bare for guests to provender them".

"It means their diets weren't precise balanced due to the fact that they'd provender them much treat-like foods.

"There were cases wherever they were buying little steadfast nutrient for the animals conscionable due to the fact that it was cheaper."

He claimed avoidable deaths occurred, adding: "A peacock flew into the elephantine otter enclosure and the 2 elephantine otters ripped its caput disconnected successful beforehand of a schoolhouse group."

CZCL said it "wholly denied and disputed" it had ever "engaged successful immoderate practices which has led to the death, wounded oregon mediocre attraction of animals".

The BBC besides heard allegations of a bullying civilization and precocious unit turnover.

"Staff were breached astatine times, wholly broken," according to a erstwhile worker we person named James.

"There was shouting astatine radical and belittling people. The greeting gathering turned into isolating and humiliating people."

Jane agreed, adding: "There was shouting implicit the vigor and everyone could perceive it. I wasn't inferior unit and I felt awkward.

"I saw unit successful tears, I saw unit leaving regularly."

CZCL said: "We bash not judge that determination is simply a 'bullying culture' oregon that unit are overworked.

"We instrumentality immoderate allegations of bullying highly seriously, and erstwhile they are made they request to beryllium afloat investigated and dealt with."

The institution said it had to marque improvements aft taking implicit the zoo due to the fact that unit were not decently trained, but it "did not make a toxic oregon unhealthy culture".

Ms Brewer said: "These malicious claims are a nonstop effect of an ongoing run against america by Zoo Investment Company (ZIC), which stretches backmost much than 3 years, to unlawfully undermine and disrupt the moving of the zoo."

She is referring to a bitter ineligible conflict with ZIC, the landowner, which wants power of the park. The quality has, according to assembly inspectors, contributed to problems astatine the zoo.

While CZCL operates the attraction and holds the licence, ZIC owns the onshore connected which it sits. Separately, some companies ain animals housed and exhibited astatine South Lakes.

Dr Kate Hornby, a vet presently hired by ZIC to transportation retired play wellness checks lone connected the exhibits it owns, claims sometimes animals "have nary water, sometimes they person nary food".

She said immoderate of the rhinos are kept indoors for agelong periods successful "dirty pens with precise small bedding".

"You spot behavioural changes," according to Dr Hornby, "pacing and aggression, due to the fact that they're truthful frustrated.

"You question wherefore and however tin this spell connected this long. I consciousness helpless."

In a statement, Ms Brewer responded: "The zoo is taxable to regular inspections by section authorization inspectors and if determination were issues of the sorts described, they would person been addressed by the inspectors.

"We support broad records of each carnal injuries. As a licensed zoo, carnal payment is our premier interest and we quality these allegations.

"We find these claims to beryllium outrageous and person nary substance successful fact. Our veterinary squad are internationally recognised and unrivalled successful their field."

An unannounced inspection successful March this twelvemonth by Westmorland and Furness Council did rise akin payment concerns, expressing a content rhinos had been kept indoors for much than 17 hours straight.

The consequent study said: "Rhinoceros were implicit stocked, they had insufficient grazing and individuals were often confined wrong oregon extracurricular for excessive periods."

Other findings included "senior unit whitethorn beryllium dispersed excessively thin" and a deficiency of concern "may pb to failings successful managing the animals properly, with consequent payment problems and imaginable information to animals, unit and the public".

Inspectors said it was "extremely concerning" to find a work acquisition pupil near unsupervised with unsafe animals.

A further inspection successful April raised "grave concerns" and recovered standards had dropped implicit the erstwhile 3 years.

But by June, the assembly conducted a follow-up "visit" and reported 26 of 28 betterment directions were being complied with.

Just months aft ordering important improvements, a assembly spokesperson told the BBC: "While the issues noted successful these astir caller inspections person resulted successful conditions and directions, it was besides noted by inspectors that, with greatly reduced numbers of animals and an fantabulous veterinary programme, determination was nary grounds of the superior systemic carnal wellness and payment problems that characterised the postulation successful the past."

That past has been marked by information issues, payment fears and the avoidable death of 24-year-old keeper Sarah McClay.

Opened successful 1994, 3 years aboriginal a achromatic rhino escaped South Lakes and was shot. Further escapes and disturbing carnal fatalities kept the zoo successful the news, including the deaths of 30 lemurs successful a occurrence successful 2008.

In May 2013, Ms McClay was mauled to decease by a tiger which got done an unfastened doorway into the corridor wherever she was working.

The revelation of almost 500 carnal deaths betwixt 2013 and 2016 preceded the departure of proprietor David Gill and a committedness from CZCL of a caller and amended aboriginal for the zoo, its unit and the animals successful its care.

Two years ago, CZCL bought onshore astatine Brockholes Farm successful Tebay and is moving immoderate of its animals determination from South Lakes. Meanwhile, the quality with the existent site’s landowner ZIC continues.

Westmorland and Furness Council antecedently said that quality has "disrupted each attempts to proceed a programme of improvements". ZIC denies allegations it interferes successful the moving of the zoo.

Meanwhile, Ms Brewer said: "To beryllium clear, CZCL was not successful ownership of the zoo astatine the clip of Sarah McClay's decease successful 2013, 4 years earlier we bought the concern from David Gill, and truthful it is not due for america to comment.

"Since we took implicit successful 2017, 33 autarkic authorities inspectors person visited the zoo implicit 7 years and each person approved our standards.

"The archetypal section authorization licence was issued successful 2017 for 1 twelvemonth arsenic standard. The adjacent licence was issued successful 2018 for 4 years and the latest 1 successful May 2022 for 4 years.

"We deliberation this speaks volumes astir however we tally the zoo and the precocious standards we set. Our precedence astatine each times is the precocious prime of attraction for each of our animals."

Ms McClay's mother, Fiona, remains shocked astatine the continuing communicative of the zoo wherever her girl died: "I don’t recognize wherefore things are enactment successful place, that they bash hazard assessments and these inspections, if they get truthful galore chances to enactment mistakes right. It should person been unopen down successful 2017."