South Lakes Wild Animal Park Safari Zoo 2017 news

simon lloyd said:
jesus i knew something wasnt quite right there but this goes so much further than i expected , 7 healthy cubs killed for no reason ?? i do hope they have this so very wrong
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no reason, they didn't have room?

What should they do instead? Leave them cramped in the enclosure?

Can I point out that I don't like the zoo but "if" they have tried all other forms to stop them breeding and it didn't work then euthanasia for captive management purposes I have no problem with.
 
taun said:
no reason, they didn't have room?

What should they do instead? Leave them cramped in the enclosure?

Can I point out that I don't like the zoo but "if" they have tried all other forms to stop them breeding and it didn't work then euthanasia for captive management purposes I have no problem with.
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didnt have room??? even if it was 7 cubs to one lioness there would still be plenty of room all the while they were cubs , they were 4 days old according to the report ( 7 cubs at a year old maybe not ), when was the lions separated into the leopard enclosure ? do you really believe they have tried everything to stop them breeding ?
 
simon lloyd said:
didnt have room??? even if it was 7 cubs to one lioness there would still be plenty of room all the while they were cubs , they were 4 days old according to the report ( 7 cubs at a year old maybe not )
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So what happens when they're a year old then? And too big to stay?

South Lakes is quite clearly a pretty terrible zoo. And what happened to these cubs is very sad, but it's better to euthanise 7 young lions than keep them alive in cramped, terrible conditions.
I feel very sorry for those animals, but I'm sure that euthanasia, in this case, as sad as it is, was probably the best outcome.
 
giant_anteater said:
So what happens when they're a year old then? And too big to stay?

South Lakes is quite clearly a pretty terrible zoo. And what happened to these cubs is very sad, but it's better to euthanise 7 young lions than keep them alive in cramped, terrible conditions.
I feel very sorry for those animals, but I'm sure that euthanasia, in this case, as sad as it is, was probably the best outcome.
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disagree entirely !! there is no reason for them to have been kept in cramped conditions at a year old , they would have had 12 months to come up with another plan , does anybody know if all seven cubs were born to one or both lions ?
 
Nisha said:
....And just when you thought it couldn't get any more damning...

Harrowing animal death list revealed ahead of crunch meeting over zoo licence application

27 February 2017 6:19PM

A HARROWING death list reveals for the first time how nearly 500 animals - including tigers, lion cubs and giraffes - have died at a popular zoo in less than four years.

Poor management, emaciation and hypothermia are among the reasons for the above average mortality rate at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton, while trauma and infighting caused by overstocked pens also account for the demise of scores of exhibits.

The shocking log, which provides a distressing catalogue of injuries and illnesses endured by a wide range of species at the site formally known as Dalton Zoo between December 2013 and September last year, has been branded the worst seen in 60 years by national campaigning charity the Captive Animal Protection Society.

It forms part of a huge bundle of documents disclosed to Barrow Borough Council which will be assessed by authority bosses ahead of their decision on whether to approve either of two separate applications for a zoo licence at a crunch meeting for the business on March 6.

Maddie Taylor, CAPS campaigns officer, said: "The findings at South Lakes Safari Zoo are some of the worst we have ever come across in 60 years.

"Our visit to the zoo combined with the zoo inspectors' reports shows high death rates of animals, animals in ill health and a lack of understanding about how to meet even the most basic needs of the animals under their care.

"We urge the local authority to take action by closing this appalling zoo down."

In one case on the death list, an African spurred tortoise named Goliath was electrocuted when it became stuck in charged fencing, while the decomposed body of a squirrel monkey was discovered behind a radiator rending a post-mortem impossible to carry out.

The zoo, which is said to attract around 250,000 visitors every year, lost two giraffes in the space of nine months according to the document with the first, a 13 day old bull, dying of a gastrointestinal infection thought to be Ecoli in October 2015.

A second, an eight-year-old male, was shot in July last year after it collapsed and attempts to get it to re-stand overnight failed.

The vet who carried out a post-mortem on the animal later raised concerns over the nutrition of the giraffe herd as its bodily condition was found to be similar to others that had been unwell or died.

Mystery surrounds the sudden death of two snow leopards; Miska and Natasja, in October 2015 after they were discovered partially eaten in their enclosure.

A vet initially suspected they may have been poisoned but blood tests ruled this out. No post-mortem was undertaken.

Indiana, a three-year-old white rhino, died after being crushed by another rhino against a barrier.

Some animals were killed as a form of population control - with seven healthy lion cubs euthanised at four days old in August last year because the safari zoo did not have room for them.

It followed the culling of five baboons in 2014 after their number grew too large.

And 18 sacred ibis birds were shot by Mr Gill after he was threatened with prosecution for allowing the non-native species to fly free from the zoo - a move heavily criticised by avian experts during a subsequent court case over the matter.

Separate papers obtained by the Evening Mail show that just two months ago, a jaguar named Saka was put down after it chewed off its own paw overnight on December 27.

The keepers claimed it had sustained a bite beforehand but a report by external veterinary experts states other jaguars kept on site had suffered cut or damaged pads in the past from broken glass found in rubble in the enclosure, loose wires in the jaguar house and large nails on the feeding poles

detailedstory
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Now a major headline on the BBC News website.

Surely it's only a matter of time before criminal charges are brought against this man?
 
simon lloyd said:
didnt have room??? even if it was 7 cubs to one lioness there would still be plenty of room all the while they were cubs , they were 4 days old according to the report ( 7 cubs at a year old maybe not ), when was the lions separated into the leopard enclosure ? do you really believe they have tried everything to stop them breeding ?
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Keeping animals with the intention to breed them, you have to come to terms with you have to sometimes euthanize. Not ideal but is part of any breeding management.

Until proved otherwise you have to assume that they did try to stop breeding otherwise why cull at an early age, why not get the publicity?

Unfortunately its hard to accept by some people, I was like you....really they just let them breed and cull spare animals but it happens a lot at most zoos with valid reasons I have come to accept as part of breeding programmes.
 
The report states a giraffe death, is this another one other than Bella the calf who died a while back ?
 
simon lloyd said:
disagree entirely !! there is no reason for them to have been kept in cramped conditions at a year old , they would have had 12 months to come up with another plan , does anybody know if all seven cubs were born to one or both lions ?
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Off the top of my head I can only name 1 zoo in the UK with a smaller Lion enclosure and that is Newquay and they only hold a none breeding elderly pair,Not a male and a couple of females sorry but I agree with everyone else on this the cubs got the better deal,the poor adults are still having to live in a sub-standard zoo,but then of course you have visited this place so you know just how big the enclosures aren't!
 
zoogiraffe said:
Off the top of my head I can only name 1 zoo in the UK with a smaller Lion enclosure and that is Newquay and they only hold a none breeding elderly pair,Not a male and a couple of females sorry but I agree with everyone else on this the cubs got the better deal,the poor adults are still having to live in a sub-standard zoo,but then of course you have visited this place so you know just how big the enclosures aren't!
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i was informed that the lions had been separated into two separate enclosures is this not the case ???
 
zoogiraffe said:
Off the top of my head I can only name 1 zoo in the UK with a smaller Lion enclosure and that is Newquay and they only hold a none breeding elderly pair,Not a male and a couple of females sorry but I agree with everyone else on this the cubs got the better deal,the poor adults are still having to live in a sub-standard zoo,but then of course you have visited this place so you know just how big the enclosures aren't!
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I thought that Newquay had a brother an 2 sisters from Longleat? I agree that euthanasia of the cubs was the right thing to do, imagine if there was at least 9 lions in the one enclosure! I think they also have 2 males on rotation anyway at the moment.
 
Unfortunately there is very little avaliable room for 9 lions within the UK or Europe, I very much doubt in 12 months a home could have been found, sadly. The cubs were born much earlier before both pairs had their own enclosures and were just on a rotation.

Also sorry to correct you Zoo Giraffe Newquay zoo currently hold one male and two females... Boss, Amahle and Semira all young individuals from Longleat under 4 years old.
 
Tau said:
Also sorry to correct you Zoo Giraffe Newquay zoo currently hold one male and two females... Boss, Amahle and Semira all young individuals from Longleat under 4 years old.
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Don't worry I am not too big to be corrected if I am wrong.I never pay much attention to the Lions at Newquay as there is too many far more interesting things to see like Fosa,Owstons Palm Civet, and Hoffmans Sloth!

But Newquay have no plans to breed from them so,what there age is doesn't matter!
 
Why has no one from the keeping staff spoke out about what's been going on?

Or is it a case of damned if I do/damned if I don't?
 
Now that this has been highlighted and brought to the publics attention by national media I reckon times up for SLZ, fingers crossed that this is the last straw
 
Tau said:
Unfortunately there is very little avaliable room for 9 lions within the UK or Europe, I very much doubt in 12 months a home could have been found, sadly. The cubs were born much earlier before both pairs had their own enclosures and were just on a rotation.
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When I was last there some 13 years ago the lions had avery large enclosure I assume from the recent posts, this had been sub devided and re used?
I chatted with the girl who was bringing them to do a clean up of the enclosure for quite a while, the staff seamed to love thier charges, but in a privately run orginisation there probably wasn't much any one could do to change things, Hell it would seam the council coudn't get through so keepers had no chance. and i think zoo keepers are in a limited job market I feel for the keepers if this place closes as well as the animals that have to be rehomed, and the people of cumbria who will loose a potentially great zoo
 
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