Thugs slaughter dozens of animals at children's zoo

Vandals slaughtered up to 50 animals at a children's zoo leaving a trail of devastation. About 30 rabbits and 20 chickens were found dead following the rampage. Cockatiels, guinea pigs, lemurs and chinchillas were released from their enclosures and several are still missing.

The owner of the Pets Corner attraction at Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, Marion Holness said: 'It was absolute carnage. The staff were in tears and we felt like being sick. It is pretty hard to describe.

'We are hoping someone, somewhere knows who has done this and they have the bottle to say who it is. We need people like this off the streets. The rabbits are handled by the public and are used to being held but they have just been used as footballs.'



Mrs Holness said she believed some had been kicked to death while others had subsequently died from the shock of the attacks.

'Rabbits have also been dying all week; they didn't look injured and they certainly weren't crying out in pain,' added Mrs Holness. She added that she believed a dog had been used to kill some of the chickens, but said it appeared some had been slaughtered by human hand.

A police spokesman said: 'It appears vandals gained entry to the premises and caused considerable damage to cages and enclosures, releasing many of the animals and birds.'