‘Britain’s worst zoo’ threatens to PUT DOWN its animals as it’s running out of cash due to lockdown
A ZOO dubbed the worst in Britain is threatening to put down its animals because of a cash crisis.
Borth Wild Animal Kingdom in West Wales is shut for the lockdown and the married couple who run it fear they only have enough money for a week more to feed more than 300 animals.
Tracy and Dean Tweedy say their money is running out to care for their stock - and would consider euthanising their animals as a last resort.
The zoo was ordered to close in January because it did not have trained gunmen in case of an animal escape, but was allowed to reopen in February. It has now closed again due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The zoo, which featured in a BBC series, Saving Britain’s Worst Zoo, ran into trouble in 2017 when two lynxs died, and a report revealed one in five of the zoo's animals died in just one year.
Ms Tweedy, 49, said many of their staff are on furlough and the zoo's business relief grant of £25,000 is running out.
After the money runs out, the couple would "have to start looking at rehoming or, as a last resort, euthanising the animals that we care for".
She said it costs £3,000 a week to run the zoo - and the pair have considered getting rid of some of the animals if they cannot afford to fed them.
She said "We were already only scraping by financially after the long, quiet winter season
"We need help now more than ever. Despite everything, we are as determined as ever to not give up."
Tracy said many of the animals would be very hard to rehome.
She added: “We also run as a sanctuary for animals that have been rescued from the exotic pet trade. For many of these animals we are a last resort.
"They came here because destruction was their only alternative.
"They would be very difficult to re-home as the licence requirements to look after these animals and provide the proper care, can be very involved and expensive,” she said.
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Ms Tweedy says English zoos get handouts but Welsh ones do not.
A spokesman for the County Council said: "The local authority has lost confidence in the ability of the zoo to operate responsibly and safely."
Andrew RT Davies, Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the Welsh Parliament, said: "This is a dire situation that the zoo finds itself in, but I’m afraid that zoos right across Wales are in the same precarious situation and desperately need support due to the profound impact of Covid-19.
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