Borth zoo given extra time to pay £75,000 tax bill

A struggling zoo has been given extra time to pay a five-figure tax bill.

Borth Wild Animal Kingdom owes HM Revenue and Customs £75,000, the Insolvency and Companies Court heard.

The zoo in Ceredigion previously hit the headlines in 2017 when an Eurasian lynx was killed after it escaped, and for breaching council licensing conditions.

The company is investigating whether it is entitled to £85,000 from HMRC, which would cover their debt.

HMRC issued a petition for the firm to be wound up over the arrears and there have since been three court hearings.

Maxim Cardew, for HMRC, told Judge Sebastian Prentis the debt remained "unchanged" from previous hearings.

He asked for a 42-day adjournment to give the zoo another chance to pay the tax.

At an earlier hearing, the court heard £75,000 was owed but the company was investigating whether it was entitled to research and development tax relief.

If so, it is said that would entitle it to £85,000 from HMRC.

The company was not represented at Wednesday's online hearing of London's High Court, but the judge granted an adjournment until 26 August "for settlement".

The zoo, between Aberystwyth and Machynlleth, has a number of category one animals.

They include two lions, three lynx, two wolfdogs, two capuchin monkeys, two patas monkeys, a grivet monkey, and a python.

In October 2017 a Eurasian lynx escaped and was shot dead by a marksman when it was found at a nearby caravan site.

A few days later another lynx died in what was called a "handling error".

Ceredigion council issued a ban on it keeping category one animals in November 2017, but the decision was reversed in July 2018 following an appeal.