Jumping Bail

‘YESTERDAY, we told you how police were looking for two silver marmosets and a tortoise in connection with a spate of robberies from the country’s zoos.

‘He shall be hung until dead’

This morning, we read that police have arrested two wallabies and 14 tortoises in connection with a similar crime.

The Times reports that the animals barricaded themselves into a flat with a man called Steve Riley, formerly the zookeeper at Tropiquaria in the Somerset town of Watchet.

Riley was sacked by the zoo in January after being accused of selling off a number of the zoo’s marmosets.

He was also said to have got a rare Dumeril’s boa from London Zoo, a Goeldi’s money from Bristol, a red-handed tamarind from Drusilla’s Zoo Park in East Sussex and a tapir from Drayton Manor Park.

The 48-year-old, who is suing his former employers for unfair dismissal, claims the ownership of the animals was a “grey area”.

But the wallabies and tortoises didn’t seem to think so – they kept Riley hostage for 23 days before surrendering to police.

The wallabies are expected to face trial at a kangaroo court.’

Posted: 15th, September 2004 | In: Uncategorized Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink