LINTON Zoo was congratulated by the zoo world last night following a prestigious awards ceremony held at West Midland Safari Park.

The Cambridgeshire zoo was commended in recognition for its ground-breaking work on ‘Best use of plants in a landscape feature/display’. The awards were presented by Bill Wiggin MP.

As always, the winning projects were selected against very strict criteria: the assessors included external experts, as well as professionals from within the zoo community.

Kim Simmons, zoo director, said: “We are thrilled to receive this top honour from BIAZA. This award particularly highlights our efforts in preserving and supporting native plants and wildlife, whilst providing the main residents an enriched three dimensional space in which to live. It also encourages natural behaviour while maintaining our high levels of animal welfare.”

The Zoo was one of 23 to receive a commendation. Held annually for over a decade, the BIAZA awards recognise outstanding contributions and achievements in the fields of wildlife conservation, advances in animal welfare and husbandry, marketing, PR, education, research, and enclosure design.

Dr Miranda Stevenson, director of BIAZA said: “The BIAZA awards highlight the crucial work carried out in zoos and aquariums. All of this year’s award-winning projects show the exceptional contributions our members are making to wildlife conservation, animal husbandry and welfare, and public understanding for species both in the UK and overseas. We congratulate all the winners.”