Borth zoo appeal date set for dangerous animal ban hearing

Lilleth evaded traps put out to catch her after her escape in October

A zoo which had two of its lynx die within days of each other is to appeal against a ban stopping it from keeping certain dangerous animals next month.

Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, Ceredigion, lodged an appeal at Aberystwyth Justice Centre earlier this month.

It has been closed since the animals' deaths in October.

"We hope that come the new year we can work closely with Ceredigion council to resolve any outstanding issues and open the zoo again to the public," it said.

The ban was enforced after a Eurasian lynx was "humanely destroyed" following its escape and a second lynx died in a "handling error".

The zoo's plan to reopen on 1 December was quashed after it failed to secure a firearms licence from Dyfed-Powys Police.

• Staff gave mouth-to-mouth to dying lynx

• Lynx shooting has 'broken' zoo owners

• Family moves in with lions and snakes

Dean and Tracey Tweedy bought the 10-acre (4 hectare) zoo for £625,000 last year

The ban on keeping "category one" animals includes wild cats. It was issued by the council, as the zoo licensing authority.

The legal hearing has been set for Monday 8 January.

In an update on its Facebook page, the zoo also criticised newspaper reports following the deaths of two other animals which, it said, had been due to health problems.

"We can confirm the recent passing of a python and a squirrel monkey but there is no mystery behind the deaths and certainly no mistreatment," it said.