Harrowing images reveal scale of alleged animal abuse at Britain’s ‘worst zoo’ where 500 animals died and keeper was mauled to death

Several disturbing images from Britain’s ‘worst zoo’ have revealed the harrowing extent of alleged animal abuse at the scandal-hit zoo.

South Lakes Safari Zoo at Dalton in Furness, Cumbria, has been steeped in controversy with a keeper mauled to death by a tiger more than a decade ago and almost 500 animals dying at the facility in the past three years.

The zoo has also been marred by a list of other safety problems, including 30 lemurs dying in a fire, and the escape of a white rhino, which was later shot.

A 2022 inspection carried out by the international Born Free foundation also revealed a range of hygiene and welfare problems at the zoo, including rhinos being kept in stables so small they could not turn.

However, numerous harrowing photographs taken between 2017 and 2019 have been handed over to the BBC to show injured and dead animals at the zoo.

One graphic shows a zebra lying on the floor of the cage with its hoof stuck between the bars of its enclosure.

Former employees claimed to the BBC that the animal became agitated after being kept indoors and that concerns were ignored by management. The animal was later put down.

Another disturbing image shows a capybara covered in bloody cuts after reportedly fighting.

According to the BBC, a giraffe can be seen with an injured head after injuring itself on the bars of its enclosure during public feeding sessions.

Zoo bosses have denied ‘any allegations’ and have reported several positive independent inspections.

Ex-zoo staff members have spoken out against the facility, with one claiming that ‘fighting’ and ‘inbreeding’ were common because animals were kept in ‘inappropriate social groups’.

Another former employee, who would have worked at the facility in 2022, said: ‘A peacock flew into the giant otter enclosure and the two giant otters ripped off its head in front of a school group.’

In 2017, the Captive Animals’ Protection Society urged Westmorland and Furness Council to strip the zoo of its license after it emerged that almost 500 animals had died at the facility between 2013 and 2016.

That same year, the RSPCA also launched an investigation into the zoo before the zoo’s owner, David Gill, was refused a permit.

After this, Cumbria Zoo Company Limited (CZCL) was formed, with the new organization promising improvements to the zoo, according to the BBC.

Despite promises, former employees have claimed that ‘nothing has changed’ under the new guidelines ‘and that the animals have suffered terribly.

The ex-employee continues: ‘I saw the staff in tears, I regularly saw staff leave.’

Another told the publication: ‘The staff were broken at times, completely broken.

“People were being yelled at and belittled. The morning meeting led to the isolation and humiliation of people.’

Cumbria Zoo Company ‘denied and disputed’ claims to the BBC that it had ever been ‘involved in practices which led to the death, injury or ill-treatment of animals’.

They also added: ‘We do not accept that there is a ‘bullying culture’ or that staff are overworked.

“We take all allegations of bullying extremely seriously, and if made they must be fully investigated and addressed.”

MailOnline has contacted South Lakes Safari Zoo for comment.

This comes after an inspection by international charity Born Free Foundation revealed a range of hygiene and welfare issues at the zoo.

The charity, which carried out an inspection on October 17, 2022, previously called for the zoo to close, telling MailOnline it has had ‘more than enough time to take corrective action’.

Samantha Brewer, from 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 following their visit to the zoo on October 17 and their subsequent reporting on their website.’

According to the report, raw meat was 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 stables so small they could only turn themselves over.

A series of bleak photos showed the apparently poor conditions some animals suffered, with ‘cold’ primates clinging to heat lamps in a bid to stay warm due to incorrect temperature settings.

One heartbreaking image showed a turtle with a sloth on its back as they appear to huddle together for warmth.

Elsewhere, a macaw was seen with ‘severe loss of feathers around its neck and a lack of feathers on the top of its head’, while a brown bear in its enclosure poked its head out of a small window.

According to the 2022 report, there were times when there were no staff present in passage areas, allowing the public to come into contact with ‘Category 1 dangerous animals’ – a categorization for zoos that 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 that 486 animals had died between December 2013 and September 2016.

While a 2021 Barrow Borough Council inspection left inspectors ‘impressed’ with the improvements made, they added there was ‘still much to do’.