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A wildlife charity has expressed its "profound disappointment" at a new "mis-educational" TV series based at a zoo in Devon.

The Zoo, filmed in Paignton Zoo, is set to air on CBBC on Monday.

In the series animals have been given human voices and computer-generated moving mouths, which CBBC Controller and Commissioning Editor Cheryl Taylor said promised a "fact-filled and fun-packed series centered around the fascinating characters and everyday adventures at the zoo".

However, in a letter to Taylor, Born Free Foundation President, Will Travers OBE, called for the programme to be removed from the schedule immediately.

He said: "The incarceration of wild animals, frequently for life, the lack of meaningful education, and the dubious conservation claims made by the zoo industry are unlikely to be challenged in a series described as "'fact-filled and fun-packed' and full of 'everyday adventures.' Indeed, attributing human voices to the animals and misinterpreting their actions to meet a fabricated narrative are seriously misleading and mis-educational.

Seeking to address Mr Travers' concerns, Alice Webb, Director BBC Children's, likened the new series to "the popular BBC comedy Porridge – it isn't funny because people are in prison, rather from the misunderstandings and mishaps of human interaction in small community."

Travers responded: "I am astounded that Ms Webb should have compared The Zoo with Porridge. One is a dearly-loved comedy starring the late Ronnie Barker and Richard Beckinsale. The other is about captive animals given human voices, expressing humanistic viewpoints about their totally artificial lives. Prison is what we do to people who have done something so bad that society deprives them of their freedom. A zoo is an entity that deprives wild animals of freedom for entertainment and dubious education."

Ms Webb states in her response to Born Free that there is "widespread and mainstream scientific evidence and opinion about the positive educational and conservation value of good quality zoos".

Travers went on to add: "I fear that The Zoo risks damaging the high esteem with which the NHU is held internationally. Depicting animals this way to a highly-impressionable 8-12 year old audience will, in my view, do nothing to advance our understanding of animals and I ask you to show some respect for a society that has moved on since Animal Magic and withdraw this kind of programming from the schedule."

The Zoo is a 15-part series following a colourful cast of talking animal characters and their keepers as they go about their daily routines at Paignton Zoo. It combines documentary, comedy and state-of-the-art animation as it reveals what the animals are really thinking.

The series, described by producer Aaron Paul as 'a kind of Animal Magic for the 21 century', is narrated by Outnumbered star Hugh Dennis.

Visitors to Paignton Zoo on Saturday, August 12, and Sunday, August 13, have the chance to see the first two episodes of The Zoo before their national transmission . The screenings will take place in the Animal Encounters building and there will also be some fun CBBC themed activities taking place over the weekend for children to get involved with.

The screening and CBBC themed activities are free to Paignton Zoo annual pass holders and guests once they have paid their admission fee. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.