A Welsh zoo has said it is "outraged" after the local council confirmed an escaped lynx had been "humanely destroyed".
Lilleth, twice the size of a domestic cat, went on the run for over a week after escaping from Borth Wild Animal Kingdom in Ceredigion, near Aberystwyth, on 29 October.
Despite “exhaustive efforts” being made to recapture the young animal Ceredigion Council said the decision had been taken after she strayed into a populated area and the risk she posed to the public became “severe”.
However, in a statement released on their Facebook page the wildlife park condemned the killing.
"We will be issuing a formal press release soon with all the details surrounding the hunting and killing of Lillith last night. I would like to make it clear to everyone however, that the decision to kill her was not ours and we in no way agreed to or participated in the shooting of our baby Lynx. We are truly devastated and outraged that this happened," they wrote.
Earlier, Aberystwyth central councillor Ceredig Davies shared a post on Facebook saying: “It is with deep regret that Ceredigion County Council reports on the humane destruction of the Eurasian Lynx that recently escaped from Borth Wild Animal Kingdom.
“Despite exhaustive multi agency efforts to recapture the class A animal, the multi-agency group responding to the incident received additional advice late on Friday afternoon, 10 November, from a specialist veterinary surgeon that the risk to public well-being had increased from moderate to severe due to the continued failure of the Wild Animal Kingdom to recapture the Lynx.
“The safety of the public was paramount and therefore once the Lynx had strayed over to a populated area of the community it was necessary to act decisively.”
On Friday the council said the zoo, which had been closed since Lilleth’s escape, would be put under scrutiny and they would carry out an inspection there later this month.
Staff from Borth Wild Animal Kingdom had been attempting to catch the lynx after she is believed to have escaped by making a “giant leap” over an electrified fence, according to the BBC.
One of the zoo’s owners, Dean Tweedy, said the lynx was sighted at about 9pm on Monday, on the same hill where she was spotted on Sunday night and she could also be heard calling in the early hours. Despite this a number of traps failed to capture her.
Mr Tweedy and his wife, Tracy, bought the £625,000 zoo a year ago.
