Three males have and one female been arrested by Hampshire Constabulary officers after reports that a group had broken into Marwell Zoo (Hampshire) and were ‘throwing things’ at the animals.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) responded to the area along with response team officers, a dog unit and armed response vehicles.
Officers combed the zoo whilst using night-vision optics, capturing the moment when a Cheetah approached one of the perimeter fences to keep a watchful eye on one of the police dogs.
It was not long before the three males were located and arrested as they tried to flee the area in a vehicle that was being driven by a 21-year-old female, who was also arrested and taken into custody.
A Hampshire Police spokesperson said:
“Three males in their early 20s from Gosport are in Police Custody on suspicion of Burglary today following reports that intruders had broken into Marwell Zoo causing damage to the Zoo premises and were throwing things at the animals.
“Multiple Police units were deployed to the incident, including Police ARV officers, a Dog Unit and a Helicopter.
“A fourth individual, a 21-year-old female, was arrested on suspicion of Aiding and Abetting the suspects after Police intercepted her vehicle trying to leave the area with the males on board.
“[An] image was taken by an ARV officer using Night Vision during the Police search of Marwell and shows one of the resident Marwell Cheetahs who was keeping a wary eye on the Police Dog.
“Police are aware that video and images of some of the animal abuse was shared via Social Media, if you have any information in relation to this, please contact Hampshire Constabulary on 101, quoting reference 44210057948”.
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What a pity they did not break into a few cages and let the animals dish out natural justice. A bit of spirited chewing in the lions’ den would have cheered me up no end. Much more effective than a nonsense community punishment. Mind you, animals not humans were the victims here, so the judge will probably put on the black cap.
If it was good enough for them to throw things into the Animals cages, perhaps they should’ve been thrown into one of the ‘Big Cats’ cages To see how they like it!
Should be Latham.