Born Free Foundation concerned about frequency of UK zoo escapes.

International wildlife and conservation charity Born Free Foundation has raised concerns about the escape of a red panda from a zoo in Cornwall. The charity is concerned about the frequency of zoo escapes in the UK, and the dangers it poses to the animals.

Workers at a fruit retailer found the red panda walking down a street approximately half a mile away from its home at Newquay Zoo. They gave the animal an apple to keep it occupied while they notified the police, who were able to keep the area secured until zoo staff arrived.

The red panda was safely captured and returned to its enclosure.

Animals that have escaped from UK zoos in the last 12 months include meerkats, ring-tailed lemurs, a barn owl, a bald eagle, ibis and macaws.

UK zoos are required to notify their local licensing authority of any escape beyond their perimeter within 24 hours, but they are not required to report internal escapes. Born Free believes that as a result of this, there could be many more escapes than those that are publicly reported. 

In other parts of the world, zoo escapes are also a problem. In Australia, five lions escaped their enclosure, a red panda was killed on a motorway after its escape, and three chimps were shot in Sweden after they escaped from their enclosure.

Chris Lewis, captivity research officer at Born Free said: “While the escape of a dangerous zoo animal comes with obvious risks to the public and zoo staff, this incident highlights the dangers for other zoo animals that may escape. The red panda will have no doubt crossed roads and could have potentially come into contact with dogs or other animals which could have caused it severe harm. We hope that the zoo and local authority put in place immediate corrective measures to ensure such an incident does not occur again.”