'Influential' zoo welfare standards pioneer dies

Tributes have been paid to the "influential" owner of a wildlife park who colleagues said had helped shape the rules and regulations governing zoos.

Ken Sims founded Thrigby Hall, in Norfolk, in 1979 and has died at the age of 85.

The zoo's director, Scott Bird, who knew him for more than two decades, said he was always keen to help zoos progress and improve.

In a tribute posted by the wildlife park, staff said he left behind a "remarkable legacy".

Bird said many people who visited the park in its early days would have encountered Sims working at the entrance kiosk.

He "had a love for getting wildlife and people together", he said.

Describing him as a "character", he said Sims always had a "presence around the park and just a knowledge and an ease with animals".

Sims's fascination with wildlife took him to south-east Asia, where he worked as a farmer of poisonous snakes and a crocodile keeper in Malaysia.

He served as chairman of the British Zoos' Federation and held senior roles with the Zoological Society of London.

As a zoo inspector from 1984 onwards, Bird said Sims was "influential in a lot of the initial standards being written and being developed over the years".

In 2013, Sims received the Honorary Fellowship of the Zoological Society of London, one of the society's highest honours, in recognition of his contribution to zoology and conservation.

A post on the park's Facebook page said: "Ken created something that was never simply about displaying animals.

"There is no doubt that Ken leaves behind a remarkable legacy, not just here in Norfolk, but within the wider zoo and conservation world.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and all those who knew and worked alongside him."

The statement offered condolences to his family and thanked him for "the passion and the legacy you leave behind."

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