Zoo Leaves Dead Animals To Rot

If this is true, then what a horrendous thing to happen!

Safari Park Horror on Merseyside10 January 2011
In this shocking story, AOL News reveals how animal keepers at a Merseyside safari park have left dead animals lying rotting next to rubbish bins, for up to ten days.
The incident at Knowsley Safari Park first came to light when park snapper Penny Boyd handed the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) a folder containing the graphic images.
Boyd, 58, has worked as the official park photographer for 10 years and has become increasingly concerned by the way animals have been culled on the premises.
After being able to take it no more, Boyd quit her job last night fuming: "One morning I heard a gunshot and looked out to see a beautiful antelope I'd known for years being downed.
"Another two shots were needed before it was dead. That kind of job should only be done by experienced people."
Boyd went on to say: "I couldn't carry on producing cute pictures to get Knowsley positive publicity knowing some of the animals might be culled and dumped to rot the next day.
"Carcasses should be collected within hours and taken to be destroyed. I saw animals lying for up to ten days. You could see maggots. The smell was horrendous.
"To leave bodies like that is appalling, never mind the health risk. I found it soul-destroying."
Due to the nature of the discovery, Merseyside Police are investigating the gun licences held on the premises, although they have confirmed that no offences had been committed.
Liz Tyson, Director of the Captive Animals' Protection Society, has urged people to "to scratch below the surface of the public perception of safari parks, to see the evidence of what goes on behind closed doors. Zoos are not protectors and saviours of animals."
General Manager David Ross In a statement said: "It is a matter of sadness and regret that these allegations have been made by a member of staff who resigned in September this year.
"In terms of the images supplied by our former employee - taken in a private staff compound well away from areas open to the public - we believe that some carcasses have been moved around and displayed for maximum photographic impact."
He said none of the pictures showed any culled animals, claiming they were either stillborn animals, animals that died of natural causes, or as a result of fighting, put down by the vet due to injury.
He said: "In a park with almost 800 animals, some such deaths are inevitable. The baboon has clearly been taken out of the bag for a staged photograph.
"Space is limited even in a park of this size and on occasion we may find ourselves with too many animals of a particular species.
"Our policy is to move these surplus animals to other collections, and our keepers routinely inspect these new locations to check they are suitable before animals are moved."

Thats vile, suprised I never saw it in the news

What makes it worse is the zoo's now trying to say that it was a put up job. But the lady who took the pics said that she'd been seeing this for a long time & just couldn't take any more.

those poor animals..

we are goign to see this happen here in australia.. with all the floods people are having to leave their pets behind
such a sad sad time

Yes, but that's because it can't be helped, as sad & shocking as it is. But the zoo doesn't have that excuse.

That is so terrible. I always think zoos are bad to start with, ever since I saw an Orang Utan see me watching him and him covering his head with a sack so that I couldn't see him.

Terrible and no need at all. Why do they not recycle the meat ie feed to the lions instead of a healthy one being killed am I being insensitive

Exactly Gem

Yeah i seen this almost a week ago i find it disgusting, over populating is no excuse to kill them. Gem your not being insensitive its true to the ones who were shot (to an extent as lead poisoning might be a issue) just not the one who died of illnesses. thats the thing with most of these collection places they are just that collection people they see these animals an collections nothing more, very rarely you will even find enrichment in their enclosure or even good enclosure its sad really.

I saw this on the news and was suprised those poor animals just left to rot

Knowsley is not far from me we used to take the kids every year and they loved it we have some really happy memories of going there but would never go anywhere near it again.