British Zoo Where Keeper Was Mauled To Death Faces Closure After Death Of Hundreds Of Animals

A British zoo where a female zookeeper was mauled to death by a tiger is facing closure.

This comes after inspectors discovered a huge number of animal deaths at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria.

According to the Mirror, in 2015 the number of animals who died was 146. Not only that, but from January to April THIS year, a further 61 animals died according to a council report.

Back in 2013, the zoo made headlines when Sarah McClay, 24, was tragically mauled to death by a tiger.

Barrow Council inspectors looked into the deaths of the animals and found that there were a range of reasons including: rat poison, trauma, drowning, being 'run over' and being put down.

The founder of the zoo, David Gill, had submitted an application to re-new the zoo's license in January this year. However, following the inspection there has been a recommendation to block reissuing the license.

The Licensing committee will meet this week to discuss the future of the zoo.

Words by Mel Ramsay

Featured image credit: PA Images

Topics: Zookeeper

Mel Ramsay

Mel Ramsay has been a Senior Journalist for Tyla and LADbible since 2015. She started her career writing obituaries and funeral guides online. Since then, her work has been published in a wide variety of national and local news sites. She is part of the BBC's Generation project and has spoken about young people, politics and mental health on television, radio and online. Contact her - [email protected]

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