THE company behind Dalton zoo faces being struck off after bosses failed to submit legal documents on time.

A compulsory strike off notice has been issued against Cumbria Zoo Company Limited after the firm failed to submit its confirmation statement by the deadline of October 25 of last year.

Documents registered with Companies House also reveal three directors of the private limited company - Yasmin Walker, Katherine Black and Jayne Birkett, have all resigned from their positions in the last three months.

Five directors remain - Kim Banks, majority-shareholder and chief executive Karen Brewer, Anna Gillard, Stewart Lambert and Adam Steel.

Chief executive Karen Brewer said the company had submitted the documents but due to an administrative error the incorrect detail was included. She said the correct documents would now be sent to Companies House.

Cumbria Zoo Company Limited was set up in October 2016 as the zoo moved away from the control of founder David Gill.

In February last year, a controversial autopsy list emerged charting the official cause of death for hundreds of exhibits kept at South Lakes Safari Zoo.

It revealed hundreds of animals had died of hypothermia, emaciation and infighting due to overstocked pens.

The report also detailed how a litter of lion cubs had been euthanised due to overbreeding, vets had been forced to shoot a giraffe after it fell on a slippy floor, two snow leopards were discovered dead and partially eaten in their enclosure and a three-year-old white rhino was crushed against a barrier.

Veterinary experts and state-appointed zoo inspectors laid the blame for the catalogue of animal welfare breaches at the door of the attraction's founder and licence holder, David Gill.

Mr Gill was subsequently refused a zoo licence by Barrow Borough Council.

The authority went on to award a fresh licence to Cumbria Zoo Company, which is now responsible for running the site.

From 30 June 2016 the confirmation statement replaces the annual return which much be submitted by all registered companies.

Every company must confirm the information Companies House holds about it is correct by delivering a confirmation statement.

If the information held is out of date the company must file the information needed to update its records before, or at the same time that it delivers the confirmation statement.

The statement confirms that all the information that the company is under a duty to tell Companies House about under section 853A(2) of the Act for a relevant confirmation period has been delivered or is being delivered at the time the statement is made.

This statement must be made at least once a year, but the company may choose to make a statement more regularly.

A confirmation statement can be made online or in paper form. The statement must contain the company’s name, number and the confirmation date. The filing must be signed or authenticated on behalf of the company.

It’s a criminal offence to not file a confirmation statement within 14 days of the end of the review period. If a company doesn't do this, the company and its officers could be prosecuted.

Who runs South Lakes Safari Zoo now?

Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd is in charge of South Lakes Safari Zoo.

The company was set up in January with former South Lakes Safari Zoo chief executive, Karen Brewer, at its helm.

CZC Ltd was awarded its own licence to run the zoo in May 2017.

Who owns the site at Dalton?

The 50-acre site, near Dalton, is owned by David Gill.

How are zoos licensed?

Zoos are licensed by the local authority.

Zoos must first be inspected by government-appointed experts who make a recommendation on whether they believe a site is good enough to have a licence to operate.

The final decision, however, rests with members of the local authority's licensing committee.