I'd forgotten the later one was Gerry Cottle's, but I too did remember which one it was in 1985. In between them (oh, unless it was the one in 1984 - but I think it was later; no actually it could have been the one in 1984 that advertised for a Lion keeper at the Job Centre) there was another circus that had a single Asiatic Elephant. It used to be tethered at various points around the camp. I do remember an amusing incident on the beach with the African Elephant - it was just like a film when a group of people on a bogie enter a railway tunnel and then come back out at high speed with a train bearing down on them. A woman ran into the sea towards the African Elephant which then started running towards her. She ran back out rather quickly. Somewhere I have some photos of the Elephants in the sea that day.
I'll try, but it may take some time. Some won't be suitable for posting as people in swimming costumes wandered on to them including the woman who ran towards the African Elephant - she was wearing an orange bikini. Some should be okay though as the Elephants did swim out quite a way at times and were well clear of people.
Hazelhead was the first zoo I ever visited - I have vague (pre-5) memories of wild boar and crocodiles!! Glasgow went to pieces after the death of Richard O'Grady, although it had been struggling for several years. Zoos went out of fashion, and it didn't have the footfall. I too remember the Cameron Bear Park (I recall the last time I visited, there were also tigers there on an island) I'm not sure why Scarborough is listed as a 'welcome' closure, but I was only small when we visited it - the thing that sticks in my mind (apart from the dolphins and plastic dinosaurs) were dingos - not a species you see these days.
Scarborough also had Chihuahuas dressed in little (they'd have to be) costumes that yapped along to "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?"!!
You mentioned Tenby - St Catherine`s Island Zoo, housed in a fort. The zoo had two or three owners in its history, one of which was the couple who went on to run Silent World nearby. Another was a Mr Roger Perry, the last owner in fact. He was convicted in 1978 of cruelty and neglect after several animals were found dead, and the rest without food and water. The RSPCA found the following; on 24th April 1978, 2 dead terrapins, two dead rabbits, four dead Stump-tailed Macaques, another dea monkey (decomposed) and a dead porcupine. He was also convicted for causing unnecessary suffering to a Blotched Genet, two Palm Civets, and a Jungle Cat. Subsequently the officers discovered that the place had been without heat, light and water for some time as the generator had broken and the water supply to the island had been damaged in a storm months before. No vets had been called to the animals.
An intresing article about the Island Zoo - Tenby : Turtle with 'horns' on eyelids awaits spike in visitors to central Japan zoo - The Mainichi
I once worked with a guy who was very negative about zoos, his dislike for zoos stemmed from a visit to Tenby's island zoo. Given the unsuitability of the site and the lack of running water it must have been a grim zoo. The owners went on to open an aquarium in a church,, they certainly picked odd places to house animal collections.
