CEREDIGION council chiefs have made it clear that it was the responsibility of Borth Wild Animal Kingdom to catch the escaped lynx, Lillith, and not that of the council.

After Ceredigion council was widely condemned following the shooting of Lillith, the authority wanted to stress it was not responsible for the failure to capture her.

A spokesperson said: “The council wishes to make it clear that the recapture of the animal was the responsibility of Borth Wild Animal Kingdom.

“The council and Dyfed-Powys Police offered as much assistance as possible but the owners were specifically responsible for the recapture.

“Their failure to capture the escaped lynx in reasonable time meant that decisive action had to be taken to protect the public.”

The council has confirmed it has launched an investigation into how Lillith came to escape from the zoo and whether any licensing conditions were breached.

But it is not known if that investigation will consider the decision to kill Lillith or look into claims that Lillith had been found under a caravan and could have been caught in a net.

The council has insisted that decision to shoot Lillith had been taken in partnership with other agencies and following advice from an expert veterinary surgeon.

The council has claimed that the “nature of the terrain and vegetation in the area, the time it would take for the sedative to take effect and the uncertainty of how the lynx would react” meant that the use of tranquilisers was “not an option”.

Calls have been made for an independent investigation.

Aberystwyth councillor Ceredig Davies, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on the county council, said he wanted to see a full report on how the animal met its end after a full investigation.

And a spokesperson for the Ceredigion Labour Party, calling for an independent investigation, added: “The scope of this investigation needs to encompass the present and past licensing of the zoo, the decision making process after the escape, and the authority and actions of all parties concerned in the killing of Lillith the lynx.”

It was revealed this week that a second lynx died at the zoo when it was asphyxiated during a move to a new enclosure and it is not known whether or not this death will form part of the investigation.

The zoo remains closed on a voluntary basis.