Trouble at the Zoo - documentary on South Lakes - BBC2

A heads-up for anyone who can bear to watch this through their fingers. Tonight at 9pm on BBC2:

Trouble at the Zoo: Following South Lakes Safari Zoo as staff try to rescue the zoo's reputation. The zoo made headlines when it was revealed that almost 500 animals had died there in four years.

 

Thanks for the reminder, Hunted goes onto the planner !

 

Got to be honest, I’m not sure how that has done much positive for the Zoo. There’s been a number of changes since filming finished and also they’ve now changed meat suppliers and loads more animals have left and work has been done on enclosures.
It’s a shame there wasn’t some sort of end of program update.

 

I missed it! My memory is appalling lately. Will have to try to find it on catch up. Was it any good?

 

I thought the programme was pretty positive. I think Andreas, the zoological director, came across very well. But there wasn't much conclusion - it just stopped. I thought they might have ended by asking the staff some more searching questions about how things had changed. It would have been better without all the overhead views from a drone, which added very little, and without so much lugubrious music.

 

I've just finished watching it.After the horrors committed by the prior owner,(who should be forced to hand the park over much cheaper than what he's asking for),the keepers & new owners,seem to have the dedication and devotion to rescue the zoo.I'm sincerely wishing that somehow,their finances and reputation will improve. But i was little perturbed that there was hesitation in disposing the freezer full of tainted meat,and the hint that it may be used for feed again!

Some of the keepers voiced concern about the drastic reduction of the stocklist will result in the lack of animals drawing away visitors and leaving empty enclosures.

This is one of the zoo's i would certainly visit at some near point,but i will wait in caution until they have found their feet.

 

I watched it last night....made for extremely uncomfortable viewing.....obviously some editing issues......and the honesty in places is to be applauded.....but it did come over (to me at least) that there are far too many 'cooks' involved in the management of that place.....many of whom should not be making decisions regarding animal welfare, species kept, etc. They seemed very focused on making money and 'keeping their jobs'....

The contaminated meat issue was just ridiculous.......most zoos would have just ditched the supplier if they cannot assure reliable quality. I suspect there is a financial driver here also.

I am loath to make any sweeping judgements about the viability of the place or whether or not it should stay open....this has been done to death anyway on this site........there are clearly some high quality, knowledgeable animal people at the zoo and they would seem to have the capability to turn things around.

I see the BFF have something on their site on the programme too.......this is my real concern....I can't help feeling this sort of thing (the issues with the zoo itself and the programme highlighting it) somehow bring the high quality standards of the UK/ EU zoo community in general into dis-repute and, of course, SL is a very long way from pretty much all other zoos in UK and Europe for many, many different reasons.

Anyway, all of this is just the overall impression I got from watching the programme. I am a life-time supporter of/ enthusiast for....good zoos, but I am not a zoo professional..........I therefore do not wish for any of this to come over like I am making judgements in general, and I realise that one hour of documentary does not provide the full picture.

 

I am very intrigued to watch it for myself and to see the general picture it paints. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to catch up with it soon, either over the weekend or early next week. I have never visited South Lakes as yet, but have considered giving it a try for a little while now.

 

As was I.

That's not the impression I got from watching the programme, or did I miss understand something; I might have to watch it again.

I was told at the zoo in 2016 that the previous snow leopard cub deaths was down to barb poisoning and that suppliers were changed then. I really wanted to go last summer, but have decided not to until I'm happy they've sorted their selves out, but the programme hasn't really cleared anything up for me.

 

Firstly, I hadn't realised that there was such effort going in to turn the place around. Whether that turnaround can be achieved on such a shoestring budget is the key question.

While I'm tempted to say the story needs to be revisited with a 'Part 2' in 12 months time, part of me agrees with Newzooboy; the Zoo's dirty laundry is being aired in public, and by association with some people's way of thinking, potentially reflecting negatively on all zoos. I hope not, anyway.

Just a word for the production values - its very well made. The photography, music, and editing create atmosphere. Its not an easy going hour of fluff that's for sure.

 

I got the impression they were cautious in disposing of the meat in case it was needed for evidence, not to use it as feed.

I also got the impression, although it wasn't stated, that the existing supply was so cheap they were reluctant to change it as they'd have to fund the upgrade. Just my interpretation.

I hope they have indeed found another dealer.

 

I’d agree with @NigeW - this is a very well-made documentary. I also thought it was very well balanced, with the anti-zoo bias I’d been expecting to see wholly absent. I think the zoo came out of things much better than they might have done – certainly, the staff were presented as being dedicated and caring. There did seem to be a very amateur flavour to much of the way things were done – not just in the unscientific feeding, for example, but also with the whole attitude towards the animals, with keepers going on about how “cute“ things were, and struggling to deal with the realities of a modern zoo (is it really the case that the concept of a surplus list is one that would be alien to any zoo employee?) – a lot of evidence of a “pet keeping“ mentality, possibly.

One thing I was not sure from the program, and not having followed events at the zoo as closely as I might have done, was the status of the European (German? Dutch?) chap who seemed to be in charge of things. Was he brought in as a consultant of some sort? Or is he running the place? What is his background? On the evidence of the program, he seemed to know what he was talking about!

 

I had given my impressions of the programme on the programme-specific thread....

Glad to hear that things have move don somewhat regarding the contaminated meat issue....but really would have been good to say that in a voice over or at the end.

What I can't understand is why they don't routinely test the meat for barbs......BEFORE it is fed to any animals......the dose required to kill, for example, a cow, is pretty high.......it should show up in a relatively inexpensive analytical test. Granted, this comes at a cost when every batch has to be tested.......but given the 'value' of the animals in the zoo (both to the zoo itself and in a wider conservational sense)...then it seems like a relatively cheap type of insurance. I'm pretty sure that other zoos do this...or at least random checks...or relying on some sort of third-party accreditation that checks such things (as they do for human consumption).

I do struggle with the cost argument though. Bottom line.....if you can't afford to feed your lions meat of sufficient quality....then you can't afford to keep lions.

 

It was an interesting watch. Is it a one-off does anyone know or is there a follow-up to come?

I felt a bit sorry for Andreas, some of the staff seemed very resisitant to change. They wanted to keep all of the animals, but there was also an element of "he's spending too much money".

It'll be interesting to see how they go this year.

 

ZOO & WILDLIFE CONSULTING SERVICES | Consulting | Bildung | Exkursionen | Gesetze und Verordnungen | Austria

Andreas Kaufmann
Studied biology and zoology in Graz. More than 25 years of professional experience of animal care, husbandry and transport of wild animals, zoo development, management and staff training. Austrian observer on the CITES animals committee, member of the Animal Transportation Association's board of directors, lecturer in wildlife ecology, court certified expert for zoology

 

Imagine being a zoo consultant! Beats being a social care commissioning and contract management consultant any day!

 

I just watched it. I also thought it was interesting and well made. Re the reference to the 'Surplus list' I think she was referring just to the Zoo's own surplus list i.e. she hadn't heard about that particular plan... I also remain unclear whether Andreas is there just in a consultancy role or is actually running the animal side of things now.

 

Having just watched the programme I was pulling my hair out at parts.

The surplus list, I got the main issue was amount of animals not the amount of species (some species would be lost but not a dramatic reduction) and therefore he wanted to reduce them to ensure they were manageable. And thus also reducing the food bill it is a smart plan. I just don't get how they could not see this.

Positive the aerial shots of the zoo it looked a lot greener, a very hard thing to do with heavy animals or animals that will eat the grass.

 

Congratulations on winning the longest job title in the world award.