Isle of Wight Simi tiger to arrive in January

Simi the tiger is currently in an animal welfare centre in Belgium

A former circus tiger waiting two years to be imported to the Isle of Wight Zoo is expected to come to the island in January.

The plight of Simi was called a "bureaucratic log jam" by MP Andrew Turner at Prime Minister's Questions in September.

Simi has been in Belgium awaiting transportation.

A zoo spokeswoman said: "We are now estimating Simi's arrival somewhere around middle to late January."

'Cruelly treated'

Zoo director Charlotte Corney said the eight-year-old tiger was seized on welfare grounds in Germany two years ago and was being held in isolation at an animal welfare centre.

The zoo carried out negotiations with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for a rabies waiver to allow the animal to be imported into the UK.

Mr Turner, the Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, said: "She was firstly cruelly treated by a circus and has now been kept in isolation for two years, despite Belgium being wholly free of rabies."

A spokeswoman for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said: "Quarantine waivers are strictly controlled and only issued if certain criteria can be met by the premises of origin and destination.

"APHA will work with the Isle of Wight Zoo to ensure that the correct procedures are followed."