Bosses warned they are being prevented from transferring animals such as rhinos and giraffes due to red tape created by the UK’s departure from the EU.

Transfers of animals for conservation schemes involving Ireland, Britain and EU plunged from 1,400 in 2019 to just 48 last year.

An animal conservation boss has warned post-Brexit red tape delays are putting already endangered species at further risk.

The charity behind a Suffolk zoo has urged the government to unlock conservation barriers that were caused by Brexit.

On the 3-year anniversary of Brexit, zoos and aquariums across Great Britain have called on Government to end the endless red tape preventing conservation breeding. / An open letter signed by over 75 zoos and aquariums calls on British Government to negotiate with the European Commission and enable the transfer of zoo animals between Britain and the EU.

A zoo has joined 75 other organisations calling on the government to end the red tape preventing breeding of rare animals like rhinos and giraffes. / Since leaving the EU, zoo animal transfers have plummeted, down from 1400 per year, to just over 200.

However, there are fears these breeding programmes designed to save critically endangered species could now be jeopardised by Brexit. / Zoos in Kent say they are being prevented from transferring animals because of red tape.

Under European Union regulations, zoos across the bloc can transfer animals to one another as part of a coordinated breeding programme aimed at maintaining genetically healthy populations of endangered species.

Zoos and aquariums from across the island of Ireland have written to the British and Irish prime ministers to call for an agreement on the transfer of animals post-Brexit.

A cross border group of zoos and aquariums in Ireland and the UK have called on politicians to sort out animal transfer issues caused by Brexit.