Inspectors told zoo to improve its procedures

Death: Bosses were asked to upgrade emergency systems and replace barriers

Hamerton Zoo, where a keeper was killed after a tiger entered the enclosure she was in, had been told by inspectors to improve its emergency communications systems, it is reported.

Rosa King, 34, died in a “freak accident” at Hamerton Zoo Park in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on Monday.

The long-serving zookeeper was described as “inspirational” and enjoyed working with her “beloved cats”, friends said, while her mother said she “wouldn’t have done anything else” as a career.

The Telegraph said the zoo had been criticised following an inspection in 2013 – which ordered the owners to “review and replace ageing safety barriers where the structural integrity of the barrier is compromised”.

The report, quoted in the paper, added: “Inspectors consider that reliance on mobiles to communicate in an emergency is not sufficient and the system needs to be upgraded to ensure that all relevant staff can be contacted simultaneously.”

Owners were also tasked with tailoring escape procedures to the various risks posed by animals at the zoo.

The zoo is said not to have responded to the paper’s requests for comment.

Distressed staff are said to have thrown meat into the enclosure in a desperate attempt to help Ms King during the incident on the morning of Bank Holiday Monday.

Ms King’s mother Andrea told the Press Association her daughter had worked at the zoo for around 14 years, adding: “She wouldn’t have done anything else, it’s what she has always done, it’s what she has always loved.”

Cambridgeshire Police said the tiger had not been killed and was unharmed.

The gates to the attraction, which is in a rural lane surrounded by open fields, were locked on Tuesday morning as an investigation continued.

The zoo, which saw visitors evacuated when the incident occurred, said what happened appeared to have been a “freak accident”.

It said: “At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures and at no point was public safety affected in any way.

“All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time.”

One witness, Pete Davis, told BBC Radio 5 live: “You could obviously see the keepers were all distressed and, you know, not really knowing what to do, heads in their hands.

“A couple of them were throwing meat over the enclosure to try and entice the tiger away.”

Rosa King died at Hamerton Zoo Park on Monday.