Southport zoo: owner convicted
July 2001

The owner of Southport Zoo in Merseyside has been fined £5,000 for keeping a number of endangered birds and animals without a proper licence.

Solitary lioness: On the few occasions she spends in her outside enclosure she can often be seen pacing up and down.	The 2 chimpanzees, although brothers, were separated from each other for years. Their small enclosures have been described as barren and filthy on several occasions.	A roller coaster thunders close to animals every 4 minutes during the summer season.

Doug Petrie changed his plea from not guilty to one of guilty half way through his trial on 11 July after it emerged he had received a letter from the Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions in February 1998, informing him of a change to licensing procedures in the March of that year.

He was told certain endangered animals, classified as Annex A species, those most at risk, would require an Article 30 certificate allowing them to be displayed for commercial purposes. Petrie was warned the zoo would be breaking the law if he failed to obtain such a certificate.

In September 2000 during the local authority Zoo Inspector's visit, it was discovered that Petrie still did not have the Article 30 certificates and he was reported to the police. In November Merseyside Police, RSPCA officers and TRAFFIC (part of the WWF), acting on a search warrant, raided the zoo. Petrie was charged and sent to trial.

The court was told he had applied for such a licence only on November 14 2000, six days before the zoo was raided. Although a licence was issued in April this year it failed to cover him for the time from March 31, 1998, until the date of issue.

In addition to the fine, Petrie must pay £350 prosecution costs and forfeit the animals and birds listed in the charges. The animals and birds that will be taken are: 3 ocelots, 4 tawny owls, 1 scarlet macaw, 3 barn owls, 3 cotton topped tamarins, 10 spur thighed tortoises, 1 radiated tortoise, 9 Hermans tortoises, 1 Hermans tortoise shell, 1 sea turtle shell

This is the latest in a series of incidents criticising Southport Zoo's alleged role in the conservation of endangered species. Last September Zoo Inspectors produced a damning report on conditions at the zoo, which criticised animal health care, conditions and conservation. The Inspectors noted "There does not appear to be a focused plan for the collection that would relate it to conservation."

Earlier this year local residents helped relaunch a campaign to close the zoo down and Southport Zoo Action now hold protests at the zoo each weekend. Many of the people who visit the zoo later complain to the council about the disgraceful conditions and their concerns for the welfare of the animals. Vets and animal experts have joined in the condemnation of the zoo and Southport Zoo Action have received many offers of help with finding suitable homes for the animals when the zoo closes.

UPDATE: Southport zoo is to close down following a campaign by CAPS and other groups. Click here for more details.

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