Shock twists during day two of Dalton zoo licence renewal hearing

South Lakes Safari Zoo applied to renew their licence in January 2016 but Barrow Borough Council have been forced to consider whether or not the attraction can be allowed to stay open after concerns relating to its owner, David Gill.

LIVE UPDATES FROM DAY TWO

3.30 Discussions and debates are set to continue throughout the afternoon with decisions finally being made tomorrow.

2.00 Members are deliberating and making decisions over whether certain licence conditions can be removed.

These conditions relate to health and safety of walkways, design features and future designs of the baboon housing,and public feeding.

12.30pm Meeting hears how inspectors found the room containing the gun cupboard was left wide open despite protocol saying it should be locked with a key code. The inspection was may 2016.

Officers also recommend closure of walkways over health and safety concerns of existing walk ways.

The hearing has now broken for lunch.

12.10pm A direction order has been placed on zoo's veterinary department but the zoo is appealing this order.

The hearing is scheduled to take place on July 14 at Furness Magistrates' Court.

12 noon The hearing is highlighting all the areas that need improving on as they go through licensing conditions and compliance report.

10.40am In another shock twist, the lawyer speaking on behalf of the zoo tells the committee she is not representing David Gill and so will not be making any submissions on his behalf. Mr Gill is therefore unrepresented and the council committee say this should have been made clear yesterday.

10.35am The committee says the application to transfer the licence out of David Gill's name was sent on June 16. The transfer of the name will be dealt with at a future council meeting to be held on July 21.

10.30am The committee has refused to allow the zoo's management to add a licence name transfer request to the meeting's agenda.

9.45am The licensing committee has adjourned the meeting to discuss the zoo's request.

9.20am In a shock twist, the zoo's management announces they are not here to renew David Gill's licence and instead want to transfer the licence from his name into theirs.

During day one of the hearing yesterday, Councillor Tony Callister who chairs the licensing committee for the council expressed his scepticism about sole shareholder Mr Gill's new 'hands-off' role as consultant at the attraction.

He asked the management team if making changes was being 'squashed' by one person and said: "An owner would not let a business go in a direction they don't want it to go in."

However, chief executive for the zoo, Karen Brewer gave the committee assurances there was no alternative but for Mr Gill to step down if the zoo was to make progress.

She said: "We have a team that knows who it wants to be and where we are going.

"I think David knows he doesn't have a choice.

"It's his business; his house. If you don't grant this licence and we can't take it forward, then he will lose everything."

Many councillors also expressed their concern at the zoo's persistent failure to meet various licence conditions imposed on them, questioning why it has taken them so long to make the relevant improvements.

Of notable concern was condition 39 of legislation set by the government stating a "robust" management system is essential for any working zoo.

The hazy and unclear structure of South Lakes Safari Zoo was heavily questioned.

Council adviser and Defra-appointed inspector Matthew Brash said his main worry was the category-one animals held by the zoo, namely tigers and big cats.

Mr Brash, who has been involved with the zoo for some time said: "We have not at any time criticised the team who deal with catering and other services.

"The only concern is for category one, which are dangerous animals, and that's the part where decisions are essential."

Miss Brewer spoke passionately about her vision for the future of the zoo and how she wanted to move forward and make improvements.

She commented how the zoo was now in a recruitment predicament, with the instability of the licence putting those with the expertise needed off from applying.

The meeting was due to continue today, starting at 9am, and is scheduled to last until tomorrow.

SOUTH LAKES SAFARI ZOO INSPECTION HISTORY

ALL zoos must be inspected by law and re-apply for their licence every six years.

The popular Dalton attraction has had many inspections throughout its 22-year history. But it has always had to work hard to meet the government's required standard, always having more than 24 conditions in place, ranging from the accessibility of the park, to its animal welfare and health and safety processes.

Timeline

May 23, 1994 38 conditions

June 11, 1998 27 conditions

June 11, 2004 48 conditions

June 8, 2010 24 conditions

August 22 2014 29 conditions

September 5 2014 29 conditions

December 10, 2015 29 conditions

March 10, 2016 39 conditions

The current licence which Mr David Gill hopes to have renewed has 39 conditions in total, and three of these are now direction orders - Blackpool Zoo, by comparison, only has six conditions.

A special inspection of the zoo took place between May 23 and May 25 this year, which uncovered a range of issues from animals dying from hypothermia and emaciation, to inadequate perches for many birds.

WHO IS DAVID GILL?

THE former Dowdales School pupil started out keeping and breeding animals in his one-acre Dalton back garden, which featured kangaroos, pheasants, parrots, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs and goats.

He built South Lakes Wild Animal Park on converted farmland, with construction starting in November 1993. It opened to the public on May 28 1994, with 100 species of birds and animals, ranging from porcupines and raccoons, to exotic birds.

The transformation into what is now South Lakes Safari Zoo - with tigers, giraffes and baboons now among the animals residing at the Dalton attraction - has been enormous.

The 53-year-old, who has been involved in animal conservation across the globe, divides his time between Dalton and Sechura in Peru.

His storied life, which has not been without controversy, was documented in his autobiography, Nine Lives.

The synopsis for the book says: "Nine Lives is such a roller-coaster ride that you might expect to find it in the fiction section of the book store. "Yet every event here actually happened for real. These events would have killed lesser men but David S Gill is a survivor and he is still surviving to tell the tale - a tale you must read to believe."

Mr Gill has been the controversial figure surrounding discussions which could lead to the closure of the zoo.

He has been dubbed as the person 'squashing' new management, yet the zoo declared the "energy, ideas and business expertise" of Gill what gives them their unique selling point.

They also said he was "vital to keep the zoo's heart alive."