Indeed! Peter had only recently passed away when I visited but, at the time, they had African, Persian, Snow and black leopard; Clouded leopard and Lynx. His wife (Jackie?) was coping as best she could but I believe she was also managing the stud book for Clouded leopard. The site didn’t last much longer, and credit should go to the Sampson family for helping out for as long as they did.
Worth checking TripAdvisor, one comment in particular, allegedly from owners daughter,dated 26th of January.
Someone has been down today and there’s at least 7 cats on site, 4 puma in this photo and 3 cats next door. Not sure if they’re also puma.
Couldn't really tell what the other cats are, how on earth was animals allowed to be kept like this. Wonder who's looking after them
Not defending them but this enclosure originally just housed the pair. I think they’ve just left the cubs with them rather than moving them on and now they’re much more overcrowded than they were originally.
If the exhibits with other cats were next to Puma. Those enclosures held Jaguar and Amur Leopard previously.
Am I the only one who finds it strange, that day one of this trial was reported on, but there has been absolutely nothing since, anywhere in the media at all?
Given the state of the world, I expect this is small beer to the media. If evidence is underway, it may not be that interesting to the rest of the world. I expect the result will merit a news article. Or check the local news websites for info.
What are the chances that the Born Free Foundation is having a jig over finding a new tragedy to exploit?
I doubt it because of the owners anti zoo position over the years and born frees own poor history of keeping big cats in the UK after they rescued them.
If anyone’s doing a jig, it should be those individuals that have been trying desperately to raise concerns about this place over the years. We shall see, but let the judiciary do its job. No doubt there will be more to come once we have a verdict
I have also noticed that all reference to the case, have been removed from the law pages, with the case being removed from the daily hearings, even the two days which the media covered on the 22nd and 23rd. This would suggest to me, that a gagging order has been put in place, meaning it can't be reported on, therefore I would only expect there to be anything further if a guilty verdict is recorded, as otherwise any order would not be able to be removed.
Any reporting restrictions have a high bar in courts in England and Wales and it is higher than simply being able to remove cases from lists, though courts can ask the media for discretionary restrictions if there is an issue / information in the public domain or something that might impact the jury etc. It's more likely it has been adjourned / delisted for some reason (sickness issues, reports, non availability of witnesses or late filing of something) and it will reappear. Possibly he changed plea.The media will report mid trial if something comes up that is headline worthy but apart from that it'd be usual to wait to the end. I'd be more concerned that some of the cats are still there.
