Two men have admitted to breaking into a zoo near Southampton and damaging the penguin and giraffe enclosures. Nathan Daniels admitted damaging a penguin enclosure, while Bradley Green admitted damaging an enclosure than contained giraffes.
The two men are due to be sentenced in January, while charges against two others, Jason Huggitt, 24, and Coral Lock, 23, were dropped.
At an earlier hearing, Mr Green had already pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Winchester Crown Court heard that keepers at the Marwell Zoo felt many of the animals had been “very distressed” by the break-in, particularly the giraffes and tigers.
Video footage posted on social media shortly after the incident in February 2021 appeared to show a bottle being thrown at a giraffe’s head.
A tiger was also seemingly encouraged to approach a fence before somebody kicked out at it startling the animal.
Police, including armed response units with night vision goggles, a dog unit and a helicopter, were called to the zoo as fears grew that the animals had been harmed.
Basingstoke Magistrates Court had previously heard that the men cut through a “double chain link fence” before entering the Zoo.
Prosecutor David Foster told magistrates that the giraffes, cheetahs and tigers had been particularly upset by the incident.
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Mr Daniels and Mr Green, both from Fareham in Hampshire, were released on unconditional bail until they appear again at Winchester for sentencing in January.
Judge Andrew Barnett made it clear to both men that if they did not attend, they would be committing another criminal offence.
Marwell Zoo opened in 1972 and has a number of endangered species, such as southern white rhinoceros, Amur leopards, giant anteaters and Pygmy hippos.
