The owners of an escaped lynx last night said they were considering legal action against a local council that ordered a marksman to shoot it dead.
Lilleth, an 18-month-old Eurasian lynx, had been missing from Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, near Aberystwyth, for almost two weeks after it leapt over an electric fence and out of its enclosure.
Baited traps, heat-seeking drones and even a police helicopter were employed in the hunt to try and catch the elusive animal.
But after she was spotted asleep under a caravan in a holiday park, which was closed for the winter season, on Friday, Ceredigion County Council decided drastic action was needed.
In happier times: The big cat called Lillith was killed in Borth for the ‘safety of the public’
Mrs Tweedy said she would be consulting her solicitor today after the council brought in marksman Andrew Venables (pictured) who runs a local firearms training school to kill Lillith
Although zoo owner Tracy Tweedy, 47, insisted the animal was no more a threat to humans or other wildlife than a fox, the authority disagreed.
They said that, following veterinary advice that the risk to the public had increased, they had no choice but to ‘act decisively’ and humanely destroy the animal.
The lynx was shot dead by a professional marksman, using a specialist night scope, on Friday evening.
Mrs Tweedy said she would be consulting her solicitor today to make sure the zoo and its animals were properly protected and to see if there was any action they could take against the council.
Mr Venables, pictured, told MailOnline that his company had previously trained staff at the wildlife park in the humane use of firearms
‘It should never have happened and we will fight them on it every step of the way,’ she added.
It is understood the authority refused to consider tranquilising the lynx because the sedative takes around 15 minutes to take effect, meaning the cat may have run away and been difficult to find in the wooded terrain.
But last night Mrs Tweedy, a former foster carer who took over the zoo with her husband, Dean, six months ago, said: ‘They (the council) wanted to shoot her from day one.
The lynx was spotted sleeping in a closed caravan park a mile from Wild Animal Kingdom, pictured, where it escaped by leaping over an electrified fence
‘I was informed by the Government vet that it wasn’t possible to dart her because of the terrain she was in.
‘Darting takes time – she could have run off and got lost in the undergrowth and they wouldn’t have been able to find her in time to reverse the medication, which can kill if it’s not reversed in time.
‘They claimed shooting her outright meant she wouldn’t have the trauma of running through bushes. But I didn’t agree with it.’
Mrs Tweedy received a late-night call on Friday informing them that the lynx, worth around £5,000, had been killed.
The news prompted outrage on social media, with hundreds of locals incensed that the wildcat had been shot and not caught.
‘We feel devastated that a perfectly healthy animal, that was no more danger to anyone than a fox, has been killed in this way,’ Mrs Tweedy added.
‘The caravan park where she was spotted was closed for the winter, there were no humans there except the owners who were happy for us to continue trying to catch her.
This cage is where the lynx was kept along with four others before it escaped
Zoo staff member Kirsten Arnold is pictured searching for the lynx in the days before it was killed
Co-owner of the zoo Dean Tweedy, pictured right, was pictured looking for Lillith when she escaped from the attraction two weeks ago
‘It would have been the perfect place to dart her but by that time they had made up their mind to put this shoot to kill order in place. I told them they must do what they had to do but I wouldn’t sanction it, it was wrong and totally unnecessary.’
Mrs Tweedy also suggested the shooting could easily have been avoided had the council not insisted on following unnecessary protocol.
‘The caravan was boarded in on three sides with decking and all we had to do was sling a net across the back and we would have had her trapped,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately, one of the officials insisted that he needed to photograph her and make a positive ID before we were allowed close.
A Ceredigion Council spokesman said with ‘deep regret’ that the animal had been humanely destroyed
‘He slipped and fell going up the bank which startled her causing her to run past him and off across the fields.’
Mrs Tweedy said she and her husband had requested to see the body of the lynx, or at least a photograph, but the council appeared to be ‘with-holding it.’
She claimed the council had been under pressure from the Welsh government and farmers to kill the lynx amid unfounded fears it was worrying livestock.
The zoo voluntarily closed following the lynx’s escape and underwent an emergency inspection.
Mrs Tweedy said they were awaiting the council’s report and had been told they would have 28 days to comply with any recommendations before they can re-open.
Andrew Venables, the professional marksman who shot the lynx, said attempts to catch the animal were ‘farcical’ and shooting it was the only option.
Lillith was dubbed the ‘Beast of Borth’ after escaping from her cage by making a ‘giant leap’ over an electrified fence
He said using a tranquiliser dart would have involved having to get much closer to the lynx, which could run away before it took effect.
‘The very sad truth is the fact an animal was allowed to escape in the first place and that the owners were unable to catch it,’ he said.
‘The animal was found in a caravan park, where tourism is vital, and the possibility of a darting response was never explored.
‘It was further complicated by the dark, since it was a night-time operation.’
In a statement shared on Facebook, Ceredigion County Council said: ‘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.’
Aberystwyth councillor Ceredig Davies said he would be seeking a full investigation into ‘how this unfortunate animal met its end in this way.