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A licensed zoo keeper who has two lion cubs and a puma has been told that he is allowed to keep his enclosure, after a heated meeting.

His big cats, which were rescued, would have had to have been put down had the enclosure been banned, the applicant said.

Planning bosses at Broxtowe Borough Council had recommended the application be refused, in part because it is built on the green belt.

But during a meeting, the planning committee voted to go against the planning officer’s advice, and allow the enclosure to stay.

Several letters of support for the application, and a petition, were handed to the committee at the eleventh hour, as well as an offer from a charity which campaigns against animals being kept in captivity, to take the lions into their care.

Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent councillors voted to keep the enclosure, while the Conservatives voted to have it taken down. The application won narrowly, by seven votes to five.

(Image: Ian Hodgkinson / Picture It)

As the result was read out, applicant Reece Oliver, who is an international show jumper and is fully licensed to own big cats, punched the air in the public gallery.

Speaking shortly after the result, he said his heart had been going at a million miles an hour, and that he had thought during the debate that he would lose the animals.

He said: “It’s the best feeling in the world, it’s the best result ever.

“It’s aged me though, these last few weeks have been extremely stressful, but I know those animals would have had to have been put down.

“I love those animals, they’re like children to me. It would have been like taking my children off me.”

But Conservative councillor Philip Owen, who represents the area, spoke out strongly against the application, and said many Strelley residents opposed the plans.

(Image: Ian Hodgkinson / Picture It)

He said: “I note there are a significant number of letters and petitions in support of the petition, but I’m not sure, although I think I know the answer, how many of those are from Strelley Village, the very people who are going to be affected by this decision.”

Shortly before the meeting, the council received an offer from Born Free, a charity which campaigns to keep animals out of captivity.

Councillor Owen said: “They (Born Free) would be willing to work with the council to offer life-long care, so this statement that says they will be put to sleep simply does not hold water. It really doesn’t. It’s an emotive tug of the heart strings to try to get us to support the application.”

Speaking in support of his own application, Mr Oliver said: “In my haste to ensure the animals’ welfare, I now accept I should have applied earlier for permission to erect the three metre-high fence, and I apologise for that.

“I think you will agree, for those of you (councillors) who have visited how happy and loved the cats are, and how moving them could be detrimental to their health as they see me as their mother.”