Stickney

A rescue sanctuary in Lincolnshire with over 250 wild animals in its care works alongside European governments and authorities to protect creatures from the exploitation of the exotic pet trade.

Ark Wildlife Park was set up and opened in 2016 by Jamie and Michelle Mintram at West Fen Lane in Stickney, near Boston.

Standing across 12 acres with over 250 wild animals in its care, Ark Wildlife Park is dubbed as the first rescue zoo in Lincolnshire.

Jamie (48) and Michelle (41) work with police forces, councils, border patrols and even national governments across Europe to stamp out on the controversial exotic pet trade – where dangerous wild animals are utilised for financial gain of traders across the world.

They say that the exotic pet trade is the third largest money producer in the world of organised crime, behind drugs and weapons.

Origin stories of these creatures range from the heartbreaking to the unbelievable, and the regularity of these incidents tend to coincide with emerging trends in popular culture.

The most damaging of all, according to Jamie, was Netflix’s unavoidable 2020 series Tiger King, which is accused of glorifying and championing Joe Exotic’s practices of breeding and keeping big cats.

“When we first opened we never received any calls about big cats”, Jamie said. “Then all of a sudden, Tiger King is released and still to this day we get at least one call a month about a dangerous wildcat which needs to be rescued.”

The same can be said of the long-standing Compare the Meerkat advert for CompareTheMarket.com, which has resulted in an influx of meerkats at Ark Wildlife Park after people saw adverts and assumed they would be cuddly pets – which categorically is not the case.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has also contributed to this, somewhat. The Guardians of the Galaxy film saga saw Rocket Raccoon become a household name, and unfortunately resulted in more and more people taking in raccoons as pets without doing their prior research.

Terrapins that were found at Skegness Boating Lake were taken in by Ark Wildlife Park, including one with a distinctive tyre mark scar on its shell, from when it somehow survived being run over by a car.

A couple of Rhesus Macaques have found a much safer home than their previous surroundings, where they served 20 years as lab monkeys with electrodes strapped to their brains.

They are understandably very cautious around humans as a result, and keepers had to wear chemical boiler suits in their first meetings with the macaques, in case any lab testing left them with dangerous diseases.

Barbary Macaques have since followed the two Rhesus Macaques to Ark Wildlife Park, given their own pen to live at after one of the Barbary’s was found chained by the neck inside a garage.

A common theme amongst this is the ill treatment of these animals from owners who clearly didn’t do their research into the requirements of safely keeping a wild animal.

This was never more obvious than when Ark Wildlife Park were called about a crocodile that had been found by police during a drugs raid in Manchester.

The croc, which naturally exists in saltwater conditions, was found floating in a bathtub of cold tap water before it was brought to safety and taken in by the wildlife park.

The site’s newest arrivals are South American creatures known as kinkajous, which also have an upsetting story of poor treatment to go with their journey to Lincolnshire.

The four adorable little rainforest mammals found their way into the hands of a notorious animal trader and breeder, who hopped from European borders to strike deals for his range of exotic animals.

He was raided by Spanish authorities, who seized the kinkajous after it was found that they had been living in terrible conditions and brought them to a zoo in Spain.

Ark Wildlife Park was then contacted about housing the animals, and they set to work on creating a custom-built facility for the kinkajous to call home.

That has now opened to the public, meaning you can peek through the glass at these wonderful creatures in a now safe and more natural environment for them.

The nocturnal house is believed to be the first of its kind in Lincolnshire, and Jamie says it shows the amount of effort and finances required to look after an exotic animal like this.

He said: “How many people set up a nocturnal house to keep their exotic animals which are supposed to sleep during the day and be awake at night? With all the correct lighting and heating?

“It’s certainly not a cheap proposition looking after them, which is something that is overlooked by those in the exotic pet trade.”

Visiting Ark Wildlife Park isn’t just about witnessing these beautiful creatures, though. There is so much for young people to do, whether it be exploring the new interactive dinosaur park, utilising the soft play area or meeting more domesticated animals, such as cute bunny rabbits.

Ark Wildlife Park is open seven days a week from April, but until then it closes on Mondays and Thursdays. It is open from 10am to 4pm each day, extending to 5pm closing time during the summer.

Admission tickets can be bought from the Ark Wildlife Park website, costing £35 for a family pass, or £10.95 per adult and £8.50 per 3-15-year-old.

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Lincolnshire’s first nocturnal house will soon open to the public with four adorable new faces ready to greet visitors.

Ark Wildlife & Dinosaur Park in Stickney will welcome four kinkajous, South American native mammals that are excellent climbers and impossibly cute, on Friday, February 3.

The kinkajous will have a week to get used to their surroundings ahead of the debut of their new custom built home – opening to the public on Saturday, February 11.

Dolb, Rivac, Repa and Yama will make Lincolnshire their home after being confiscated by Spanish authorities during a harrowing experience.

They were seized from a notorious animal breeder and dealer, where they’d been kept in less than ideal circumstances which meant the kinkajous couldn’t be released into the wild.

After spending time at a Spanish zoo and then being temporarily housed in the Netherlands, a decision was made to bring the animals to Ark Wildlife & Dinosaur Park – making Lincolnshire their forever home.

Owners of the park Jamie and Michelle Mintram have created a new facility for the animals to live inside.

The result is the first nocturnal house in Lincolnshire, with donations from the community alongside businesses such as Forterra UK allowing for the construction to be possible.

Visitors will be able to view the kinkajous through a window via an enclosed corridor, with a specialised lighting system implemented during the day to cast a dim red light and not disturb the animals, while also making them visible.

Mounted sleeping areas and ample climbing opportunities will work well for the tree-based animals, which can also come say hello to the visitors by climbing branches right up to the viewing window.

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It’s “increasingly rare” for village pubs to survive, East Lindsey District Council said, as another closed venue is to be turned into a house.

The Duke of Wellington was the only pub in Midville, near Boston, until it shut its doors.

Despite efforts to find other business or community uses for it, the owners were forced to submit an application to turn the vacant building into a home.

East Lindsey District Council, who have approved the plans, said that isolated rural pubs are finding it very difficult to continue operating.

The public house on Midville Lane was the only pub or restaurant remaining in the area after closures in recent years.

The local parish council had protested the plans, saying it was a loss of a valued public amenity.

“Eastville, Midville & New Leake Group Parish Council object to this application due to loss of this amenity, being the only remaining public house/restaurant in the area,” a statement said.

“The Wheatsheaf at New Leake and the Rising Sun at Stickney are no longer public houses.”

In the council report, officers say: “In this very isolated location, it is unsurprising that no alternative commercial or community use has emerged.

“The comments of the parish council are noted, and it is acknowledged that the loss of rural pubs is indeed an unfortunate trend.

“However the realities of the marketplace are well known, and it has become increasingly rare for such isolated public houses to survive.”

However, there is hope for patrons in the area after plans were unveiled last month for a new pub and restaurant in Stickney.

The licensed venue would be built around a fishing lake alongside four holiday lodges.

The application for Neil Dowlman Architecture said: “During our research for this project, we have found there is significant demand being voiced within the village for the return of licensed premises and restaurants, and this would be an ideal location to provide these facilities.”

The Stickney application is currently being considered by East Lindsey District Council.