No change at 'worst zoo' as welfare 'violations' exposed.

Animals went missing, died and suffered disease because of continued failings at a zoo once dubbed "the worst in the UK", campaigners say.

- JANE DALTON

An “emaciated” meerkat struggled to find enough food, bear cages were left uncleaned for too long and a baby kangaroo drowned at Cumbria Safari Zoo, it was claimed. Other kangaroos were thought to have a disease and lemurs were injured because their “overcrowded” enclosures caused aggression, according to Freedom for Animals.

An activist for the animal-rights organisation who posed as a volunteer helper at the zoo for nearly a year found what they said was a “shocking” string of animal-welfare guideline violations, including “appalling” conditions, mistreatment and neglect.

Bosses at the zoo near Dalton, which is thought to house about 1,000 animals, insist they have no concerns over the work of their vets, who are “unrivalled” in their field. They also claim much of the video “pieces together snapshots in time, many predating” their running of this zoo.

In 2013, a keeper at the site, then called South Lakes Safari Zoo, was mauled to death by a tiger, leading to a fine of £297,500 with costs for health and safety breaches. Four years later, a council report revealed 486 animals had died between 2013 and 2016.