Several disturbing images from Britain’s ‘worst zoo’ has unveiled the harrowing scale of alleged animal abuse at the scandal-hit zoo.
South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton in Furness, Cumbria, has been steeped in controversy with a keeper, being mauled to death by tiger over a decade ago and nearly 500 animals dying at the facility in the span of three years.
The zoo has also been marred by a list of other safety problems, including 30 lemurs dying in a blaze, and the escape of white rhino – which was later gunned down.
A 2022 inspection conducted by the international wildlife charity, the Born Free foundation, also unearthed a string of hygiene and welfare issues at the zoo, including rhinos being kept in stalls so small they were unable of turning.
However numerous harrowing photos handed captured between 2017 and 2019 and given to the BBC show injured and dead animals at the zoo.
Among the harrowing images from South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton in Furness, Cumbria is a Zebra who became stuck in the bars of the pen (Pictured)
Other graphic images show a bloodied capybara (Left) and an injured giraffe (Right)
One graphic image showcases a zebra lying on the pen floor with its hoof stuck inbetween the bars of its enclosure.
Former employees claimed to the BBC that the animal had become vexed after being kept indoors and concerns were ignored by management. The animal was later put down.
Another troubling image shows a capybara dotted with bloodied cuts after reportedly fighting.
A giraffe can be seen with an injured head after injuring itself on the bars of its enclosure during public feeding sessions, according to the BBC.
Zoo bosses have denied ‘each and every allegation’, noting several of positive, independent inspections.
Ex-staff members at the zoo have spoken out against the facility, with one alleging that ‘fighting’ and ‘inbreeding’ were a common occurrence due to animals being kept in ‘inappropriate social groups’.
Another former employee, who is said to have worked at the facility in 2022, said: ‘A peacock flew into the giant otter enclosure and the two giant otters ripped its head off in front of a school group.’
In 2017 the Captive Animals’ Protection Society urged Westmorland and Furness Council to strip the zoo of its licence after it emerge almost 500 animals had died at the facility from 2013 until 2016.
That same year the RSPCA also launched a probe into the zoo before the zoo’s owner David Gill was denied a licence.
A kangaroo being transported via a wheelbarrow at the zoo (Pictured)
A bear inside a cage at the zoo in Dalton in Furness, Cumbria
South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton in Furness, Cumbria, has been steeped in controversy with a keeper, being mauled to death by tiger over a decade ago and nearly 500 animals dying at the facility in the span of three years
Following this Cumbria Zoo Company Limited (CZCL) was created, with the new organisation promising improvements at the zoo, according to the BBC.
Despite promises, previous employees have claimed ‘nothing changed’ under the new guidance ‘and animals suffered creatly.
The ex-staff member continued: ‘I saw staff in tears, I saw staff leaving regularly.’
Another told the publication: ‘Staff were broken at times, completely broken.
‘There was shouting at people and belittling people. The morning meeting turned into isolating and humiliating people.’
Cumbria Zoo Company ‘wholly denied and disputed ‘ claims to the BBC that it has ever ‘engaged in any practices which has led to the death, injury or poor treatment of animals.’
They also added: ‘We do not accept that there is a ‘bullying culture’ or that staff are overworked.
‘We take any allegations of bullying extremely seriously, and when they are made they need to be fully investigated and dealt with.’
A young monkey clings to the mesh below a heat lamp at the zoo amid concerns its habitat is not being kept warm enough in 2022
A macaw is seen at the zoo with ‘severe feather loss around its neck and a lack of feathers remaining on the top of its head’ in 2022
A tortoise and a sloth both huddle underneath a heat lamp at the Safari Lakes Zoo in Cumbria in 2022
A litany of hygiene and welfare issues were identified at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria (pictured), following a probe by international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation in 2022
MailOnline has approached South Lakes Safari Zoo for comment.
This comes after and inspection by international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation, found a string of hygiend and welfare issues at the zoo.
The charity, which carried out an inspection on October 17, 2022, previously called on the zoo to close, telling MailOnline that it has had ‘more than enough time to make corrective measures.’
Samantha Brewer, of the Cumbria Zoo Company which runs the Safari Zoo, said at the time: ‘These 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.’
According to the report, raw meat was seen left in a bucket outside the tiger enclosure covered in flies, rats were seen in the raccoon and tortoise enclosures and rhinos were kept in stalls so small they were only capable of turning themselves around.
A series of bleak photos showed the seemingly poor conditions suffered by some of the animals, as ‘cold’ primates were seen clinging to heat lamps in a bid to keep warm due to incorrect temperature settings.
One heartbreaking image showed a tortoise with a sloth on its back as they appear to huddle together for warmth.
Elsewhere, a macaw was seen with ‘severe feather loss around its neck and a lack of feathers remaining on the top of its head’, while a brown bear inside its lodgings was seen sticking its head out of a small window.
A brown bear looks out of a small window at the South Lakes Safari Zoo during an inspection in 2022
Rhinos were reportedly kept in stalls so small they were only capable of turning themselves around in 2022
A bear stares through a fence inside its enclosure at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria in 2022
A rat is pictured in an enclosure behind a tortoise in 2022
Raw meat is seen dumped in a bucket outside the tiger enclosure in 2022
According to the 2022 report, there were sometimes no staff present in walk-through enclosures that allowed the public to engage with ‘Category 1 hazardous animals’ – a categorisation for zoos which refers to predators such as tigers, lions, elephants and lynx.
The alleged failings come after keeper Sarah McClay, from Glasgow, was mauled to death by a tiger at the zoo in 2013. Bosses were later fined £297,500 for health and safety breaches.
In 2017 a council report revealed 486 animals had died between December 2013 and September 2016.
While a Barrow Borough Council inspection in 2021 left inspectors ‘impressed’ with improvements made, they added that there was ‘still much to do’.
