Zoo in a prickly predicament

Published on Tuesday 14 October 2003 01:00

A PAIR of porcupines had to be handed back to a doomed zoo - because their new handlers said they were too prickly to touch.

Two rare Cape Porcupines were given to a popular holiday park in a deal with Glasgow Zoo after it shut down and began to re-house its animals.

But workers at Heads of Ayr Park, in Ayrshire, insisted they were sent back after the rodents - which have potentially lethal spikes - attacked staff.

A zoo source said: "The porcupines were sent to Ayr, but staff there wanted nothing to do with them.

"They said they were too dangerous to handle safely. Their quills are very sharp, they can move at some speed and their teeth grow throughout their life.

"You have got to be very careful when you are dealing with these kind of animals so it’s not surprising they kicked up a fuss."

Zoo managers are now searching for a new home for the porcupines, which are endangered in some parts of the world.

The creatures can grow to the size of a small family dog - and the barbed quills on their backs can cause injuries which, if not treated, can rapidly turn septic.

In their natural African habitat, they spend most of their day in an underground burrow sheltering from the sun and predators.

But at the Ayrshire park, close to the former Butlins camp, chiefs had hoped to showcase them alongside guinea pigs and donkeys.

A Glasgow Zoo spokesman said: "The porcupines have been brought back to the zoo.

"We are in discussions with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to find somewhere suitable for them."

It comes as licensing chiefs at Glasgow City Council met to discuss the zoo’s animal dispersal project.

A spokeswoman for the council said: "Our officers have some concerns about some information coming from the zoo."

Animal rights campaigners have expressed fears that there are not enough staff at the Calderpark site to look after the creatures that are still there.

They believe there will not be enough keepers to care for lions and tigers that remain when redundancies are announced next week.

New homes are currently being sought for the collection after the zoo was forced to close at the end of August because of mounting debts.

A spokesman for Heads of Ayr yesterday declined to comment.