DAVID Gill, the founder of South Lakes Safari Zoo in Dalton, has formally lodged an appeal after council leaders refused to renew his licence.

The zoo has been operating without a licence after council bosses refused to renew the existing permit in Mr Gill's name earlier this month.

The licence refusal and closure order were made unanimously by members of Barrow Borough Council's licensing regulatory committee after they heard a series of animal welfare concerns from expert government zoo inspectors.

A formal closure notice was also issued. However, the zoo was allowed to remain open for 28 days pending an appeal of the licence refusal by Mr Gill, which has now been lodged with the council.

Mr Gill's solicitor, Steve Walker said: "The zoo will stay open until the appeal is disposed of.

"The first hearing is likely to be in late April or early May, which will be a timetabling hearing.

"The substantive hearing will probably be in late May depending on court time and availability."

Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd, of which Mr Gill is not a director, hopes to secure its own zoo licence from Barrow Council in May.

Mr Gill failed to attend the hearing, held at Barrow Town Hall earlier this month, and he attempted unsuccessfully to have a decision on his licence postponed.

But Mr Walker, from Livingstons Solicitors, said his client was clear that he no longer wanted to run the zoo.

"Mr Gill only makes this application today because he wants the zoo to stay open," Mr Walker said.

"Even a closure for a short period would prove insurmountable for the new Cumbria Zoo Company. But he is clear that he no longer wants to run this zoo."

The findings of a damning report from government zoo inspectors, who visited the site in January, were read out citing major concerns for the welfare of its animals.

They found some had insufficient food, warmth, shelter and bedding. Their report labelled conditions "appalling", adding there were numerous failings at managerial level.

It went on to conclude they believed Mr Gill was not a suitable candidate for a zoo licence after stating an independently reviewed post mortem list had revealed poor animal husbandry was at the centre of many of the deaths.

The committee also heard from Superintendent Rob O'Connor, firearms commander for Cumbria police, who voiced "serious concerns" over the zoo's firearms policy.

He explained only three members of staff have a firearms licence at present while three more are at the application stage.

Supt O'Connor said: "I can't see the current senior management team is able to provide professional, reliable or competent firearms capability.

"The zoo can't rely on the police to provide an immediate firearms response."

Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd, which is said to have implemented improvements since since January, issued a statement following the conclusion of the licensing meeting appealing for the continued support of the public.

It said: "We have work to do, we know we do. A modern zoo should continually strive to be better in all it does.

"We are pushing hard to meet our goals, without compromise to achieve high standards for the animals in our care and for our staff and local community and we drive forward to earn Safari Zoo its place in the modern zoo community.

"Your support is all the more vital now."

A petition calling for the permanent closure of South Lakes Safari Zoo now has more than 200,000 signatures.

A counter petition calling for the zoo to be allowed to remain open has attracted 407 supporters.