I found this on the internet regarding the zoo -
"This zoo was exposed in October 2009 after one of their deceased tigers was illegally buried on land belonging to the zoo. The tiger in question, whose name was Tira, was on loan from the Great British Circus, one of the few remaining circuses in the UK who still use performing animals in their shows, and the only one still to use tigers. Tira died 10 days after giving birth to four cubs. All four of her cubs also died."
"After receiving information that Noah's Ark Zoo had been using Tira to run a breeding programme for the circus owner, the Captive Animals' Protection Society (CAPS) arranged for one of their investigators to work undercover at the zoo. The findings of this investigation were particularly shocking and were televised in a report by the BBC's Inside Out West on 19th October 2009.
The investigation revealed that several tigers and camels were on loan from the owner of the circus for breeding purposes. When questioned by the press and public as to where these tigers had come from the owner of the zoo had claimed they were from a private collector in the north. It was discovered that this 'collector' was Martin Lacey, owner of the Great British Circus, a fact that had also been withheld from the zoo trade body, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA). After carrying out its own investigations, BIAZA terminated Noah's Ark 's membership for bringing the organisation into disrepute and deliberately keeping it's dealings with the circus hidden. This is a highly unusual course of action by BIAZA and illustrates the severity of the situation."
"North Somerset Council, the body responsible for licensing the zoo, was so concerned about the findings of the CAPS investigation that it launched a full investigation of its own, and has since attached seven conditions to the zoo's licence to prevent further breaches of regulations. These include more regular visits by the zoo's vet and ending displays where non-domesticated animals are handled for the benefit of the public."
You may find more information about the CAPS investigation on their website:
http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2009/noah.html and the Council investigation at http://www.captiveanimals.org/news/2010/noah.html
Noah's Ark has also attracted a great deal of recent criticism for its excessive use of creationist propaganda throughout the zoo, a fact which its owner, Anthony Bush, is happy to admit. In January last year he told the Church Times, "From the outside, our farm is not overtly Christian, but, from the inside, we are very strongly Christian. I am a Creationist, and we see the farm as a mission station to give people scientific permission to believe in God"
Examples of this at work include a large poster on the gibbons enclosure listing '30 reasons why apes are not related to man'; a poster claiming that birds sing, among other reasons, to 'praise their Maker'; and signs describing how the 'three great people groups' may have descended Noah's three sons.
When questioned about the zoo's creationist agenda, the Head of Zoology at Oxford University , Professor Paul Harvey replied: "The zoo is conflating science with religion. They are proposing a two-stage process: initial creation followed by evolution through natural selection. The first is not open to scientific testing while the second is. This is educationally unacceptable."
There have also been a number of Health and Safety concerns raised at the zoo, an example of which is that it was learned more than a month after the arrival of the tigers that the zoo had still not acquired adequate anaesthetics with which to tranquillise a tiger in the event of an escape. It is not clear whether this issue is still to be resolved and it was drawn to the attention of the council for the benefit of their investigation."
After all that i don't think i'll be visiting them! Also they have been given planning permision by the council to build a elephant enclousure which they hope to fill with 4 ( i think ) elephants...I doubt very much they will be able to look after them properly. Steer well clear i reckon. read more