Dead LION found in freezer during inspection at restaurant near to zoo

The animal's body was discovered stuffed next to food which was due to be served to unsuspecting customers

The body of a dead lion was found in a restaurant's freezer during an inspection by environmental health officers.

The animal's corpse was discovered stuffed next to food which was due to be served to unsuspecting customers.

The restaurant's owner told health inspectors the lion was donated to him by a nearby zoo to feed to his pack of dogs.

The shocking discovery has been revealed by Ian Brightmore, health protection manager at Chichester District Council in west Sussex.

But he is remaining tight-lipped about when or where he found the frozen animal.

He said: "When I was working in another area I came across a dead lion in a freezer.

"The food establishment was near a zoo and the owner kept pack hounds so it was food for them.

"Because the lion was kept in a place where food for human consumption was stored, of course we had to take action."

Environmental health officers have the powers to close down restaurants if food safety practices are suitably insufficient.

The West Sussex-based veteran health officer added: "The first thing we do is to seek cooperation in putting things right and this usually works.

"In situations where it doesn't we can serve a hygiene improvement notice, which legally requires the owner to make improvements by a certain period of time.

"If we find something we deem to be dangerous, we can serve an emergency prohibition notice. That means a premises must shut until that problem is resolved.

"Most take the decision to voluntarily close so as not to draw attention to the public but for those who refuse, we can go to the court where the magistrate will confirm the notice and turn it into an order.

"It will then close until we are happy that it's safe to re-open, normally that takes two or three days, although a cockroach infestation can take longer as they're difficult to get rid of.

"In the most extreme cases, we have the powers of prosecution."

Since the lion was the only health code violation the restaurant was allowed to continue trading as normal.