The restrictions can only be lifted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, after all the susceptible animals have passed two tests, 6 months and a year after the outbreak (if I have understood the results my quick internet search properly - you probably know more about this than I do). The lechwe were slaughtered in September 2017, so if all is well, the restrictions may be lifted soon: but of course testing a zoofull of animals must be more complicated than testing a herd of cattle, so there may be delays. And of course, there may have been inconclusive results, requiring extra testing.
This must be expensive for the zoo to test all the susceptible animals regularly and it seems even if they are allowed to move animals in and out again soon, the TB could crop back up any time.
Not only that, but they've had to obtain vaccine supplies and specialist equipment so that they can vaccinate wild badgers over a number of years.
Yes they did. So that effectively put them back to square one and the *very* earliest the restrictions could be lifted is next July/August. But obviously if another animal dies or tests positive before then, then they have to start the whole process again.
It's all very worrying especially as the breeding lives of endangered animals are being affected. Like TriUK, I do fear for the zoo and certainly wouldn't want to be in charge of mammals at the moment.
Thank you. I had quite forgotten that while I was trying to find a clear summary of the regulations. Nisha is quite correct, even if all goes well nothing can really happen until autumn next year.
The zoo has received 30 harlequin toads, Atelopus spumarius, from Manchester Museum: Rare toads arrive at Devon zoo
I went to Paignton the other week for the first time and was wondering if anyone could help me on the following. After the Tapir and Meerkats, there is a large paddock before the Giraffe's which has no animals in, does anyone know what used to live in it ? The sign posts say they have Anaconda's although I never saw any, are they still in the collection or have they left ? There was also signposted next to the Meerkats and Tapir, a Nocturnal House, but it appeared all locked up, does this mean this is no longer in use ? The Desert exhibit next to the Reptile house, was really cold in there, did this used to house any mammals or anything apart from birds? Could only see birds in there now. Is the Lemur exhibit actually a walkthrough as I couldn't see any way for the Lemur's to get out into the exhibit, only in their pens ? There seemed to be several empty exhibits all along the section where the Maned Wolves and that was, does the park have any plans to fill them ? Do the Toucan's have an outside exhibit as well as indoor ? Do they only have one Elephant ? Also not sure if just me, but does anyone find that the Gorilla house smells really bad ? like of dung.
Possibly the anoa paddock, formerly bison? In the tropical house, first exhibit after you've turned the corner of the first part of the path. Nope, thankfully it's gone and you never missed much... They have/had wild type guinea pigs in there, also reptiles in the summer months The ring-tailed lemurs should have full run of the enclosure, don't think you can see their off-exhibit area though. They're building a new Savannah exhibit along there, it's been put on hold several times though and seems a bit pointless with the current TB restrictions so who knows what's happening. Never realised you could see them indoors, they've always been out and about when I've visited. Yep, just Anne with no plans to replace her. Most people! Did you see Bruce the echidna? A true highlight of Paignton!
Touche! That's the problem with having two elderly and well known elephants kept singly and close to each other... My bad!
Ahh, that tropical house exhibit was large, but definitely empty I was wondering what previously lived there. No and I didn't see the Panda either, despite waiting around there for a good 30 minutes !
I've never failed to see Bruce, it's commonly held that you can't go wrong after 3.30. Check the gallery to see some awesome echidna "action" shots from @gentle lemur and that's the usual amount of activity!
A bit of patience is all you need with Bruce - it was the main purpose of my second visit to Paignton and I was very pleased I waited. Once he was out, he was out for a fair old while having a lovely time!
Some more points on the above questions: The paddock near the giraffes that used to hold bison and then anoa has been empty for some time although earlier this year it looked as though it was being prepared for the takin to move in. The anacondas went to ZSL and were replaced by caiman lizards and turtles. Lemurs - the ring-tailed and red-ruffed are let out mainly in the summer, and not at the same time. There are openings in their netted enclosures. You can see all the lemurs in their houses - the red-ruffed have their own while the ring-tailed and red-fronted share the new one. Toucans - the birds move house so often these days that I'm not sure which ones you mean. I think they might be spread over 2 or 3 different aviaries at the moment. The main one has a viewing window to the interior as well as an easily visible outdoor area. No, the ape house doesn't smell really bad, imho! Lots of drama queens go through holding their delicate noses and I always wonder what all the fuss is about. Any aroma comes from the sweat of 4 adult male gorillas, not dung.
It's actually an interesting aspect of experiencing male gorillas as their odour is used for communicating. I'm sure Pertinax could elaborate If you want to smell something really bad at Paignton, stand near a defecating rhino or behind the baboon house while it's being cleaned, imho!
