In April this year, Ceredigion County Council received an application for a Dangerous Wild Animal Licence from Mr and Mrs Tweedy, the owners of a new business known as the ‘Animalarium’ at Borth.
Mr and Mrs Tweedy`s previous company, Borth Wild Animal Kingdom Ltd, had been wound up by the Courts earlier this year and consequently they no longer hold a zoo licence or any other similar licence.
The Council arranged an inspection on 12 May 2021 as part of their Dangerous Wild Animal Licence application. Following the inspection, the Local Authority decided not to grant a Dangerous Wild Animal Licence. Mr and Mrs Tweedy were then advised that they could no longer keep any dangerous wild animals and would have to remove the primates and lechwe (horned antelope) from the premises at the Animalarium.
Since that decision, the owners and the County Council have worked together to resolve the situation. On 15 June 2021, the Council was notified that their primates had all been moved to Monkey World in Dorset without any issues. The owners are also in the process of finalising arrangements to move the lechwe.
Councillor Gareth Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Finance and Public Protection, stated: “The County Council is extremely grateful for the assistance and professionalism of Monkey World in rehoming all the apes and the Aspinall Foundation who previously rehomed two lions earlier this year”.
Officers of Ceredigion County Council are closely monitoring the situation and Mr and Mrs Tweedy are co-operating with the Council and taking steps to carry out improvements to ensure animal welfare matters are being managed and addressed appropriately.
