Fife Animal Park’s many creatures have all been found new homes, it has been confirmed.
The last of the park’s residents were uplifted from the beleaguered Collessie attraction on Wednesday by animal rehoming experts Specialist Wildlife Services.
A number of the animals have been taken in by Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder. Fife Council would not reveal where the others had been moved but it is understood the zebra is being looked after at a zoo in England.
The rehoming effort, which was coordinated by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), means none of the animals will have to be put down.
When the animal park closed last month, there were fears some of the creatures would have to be destroyed if homes could not be found for them all.
Linda Turner, from the council’s public and environmental protection service, said: “The last load of animals have just left the park with Specialist Wildlife Services whom Fife Council engaged to assist with rehoming.
“We would like to thank all those who have offered assistance and advise that we have found homes for all of the animals.
“To protect the anonymity of those who have rehomed the animals, we will not be releasing where they have gone but the public can be assured that they have gone to homes with appropriate facilities, experience and licences in place.”
Five Sisters Zoo has offered a permanent home to an emu, two coatis, two rheas and nine wallabies from Fife Animal Park.
The West Calder zoo suffered a devastating fire last April in which reptiles, 11 meerkats and an otter died. Since then staff have been working to build new enclosures.
Lesley Coupar, from Five Sisters Zoo, said: “We have had the support of people throughout last year. We’ve done a lot of work and made improvements to the zoo over the winter so it was lovely to be able to help and rehome some of the animals from Fife Animal Park.
“Five Sisters is a member of BIAZA and they’re the ones who have been coordinating the rehoming of the animals.
“We already had wallabies and had just created a new wallaby walkabout area so it’s great. They’ve already integrated with our own wallabies.”
Ms Coupar said the animals were in good condition when they arrived.
She added: “All the animals had been looked after appropriately in what must have been a traumatic and upsetting time for the owners and the staff working there.”