Former keeper Dave Magner with a baby elephant

by Gerry Warren

Two of Howletts Wild Animal Park’s most experienced keepers say they are devastated at being sacked by the company.

Head of carnivores Jim Vassie and head elephant keeper Dave Magner were dismissed within three weeks of each other.

But both men feel they have been harshly treated by the management.

Mr Vassie, 56, who has also been told he and his family must quit his accommodation at the Bekesbourne park, is one of the country’s most experienced big cat keepers.

He joined Howletts in 1983 having previously worked for Bristol Zoo. He says he was sacked because of his ‘corrosive attitude’.

He said: “I was called into the office out of the blue and told I’d lost my job. It was a big shock because it’s been my life and the only thing I know.”

Now he is seeking legal advice and is expecting to lodge a claim for unfair dismissal.

Jim Vassie - ex-head carnivore keeper, gets up close to one of his Indian Tigers

Mr Magner, 54, who lives at Adisham, joined Howletts as a maintenance man in 1987. But the following year he got the chance to gain experience as an elephant keeper and was eventually put in charge of the unit.

He said: “There is no job like it. It was my passion and I’m devastated.”

He says he was sacked for ‘negligence’ over a dispute about when he had ‘swiped’ in and out of the park and the feeding of a baby elephant.

He said: “It was claimed I hadn’t gone in to feed the baby who was being hand-reared. I did go in and she was sleeping so I decided not to wake her.

“I have overseen 18 elephant births at the park and think I can use my own experience. She would have been fed a couple of hours later anyway.

“I miss the elephants terribly because you form a close bond with them. I don’t know what I’m going to do now because it’s all I have on my CV.”

Mr Magner, who is a father-of-three, was given a disciplinary appeal hearing by the management but his sacking was upheld.

Howletts spokesman Amanda McCabe said: “We are not able to comment as we are currently in dispute with both individuals, therefore it would be inappropriate to discuss at this time.”