Isle of Wight Simi tiger plea by Andrew Turner at PMQs
The plight of a tiger waiting to be imported by the Isle of Wight Zoo has been raised by the island's MP at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs).
In a question following those of new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Conservative MP Andrew Turner said the zoo faced a "bureaucratic log jam". He said Simi, a former circus tiger, was in Belgium awaiting transportation. David Cameron replied he would help, as he had with the case of a rhino at a zoo in his Oxfordshire constituency. The question was the first after new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked questions emailed to him by members of the public at his first PMQs. Mr Turner asked: "She was firstly cruelly treated by a circus and has now been kept in isolation for two years, despite Belgium being wholly free of rabies." Nancy the rhino Zoo director Charlotte Corney said she welcomed the MP's intervention as the zoo continued negotiations with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for a rabies waiver to allow the animal to be imported into the UK. "It's incredibly frustrating when an animal needs a home and we've got the facilities and people desperate to give her some love. We're hoping this is a catalyst to getting it resolved," she said. She said the eight-year-old tiger was seized on welfare grounds in Germany two years ago and is being held in isolation at a Belgian animal welfare centre. Mr Cameron said: "I will certainly do anything I can to help. We will help with the Defra Animal and Plant Health Agency as they are the ones working on this. "I had a constituency case exactly like this - with the Cotswold Wildlife Park wanting to bring in a Rhino. "I intervened and I'm delighted to say the park named the rhino Nancy, in honour of my daughter." He revealed that Nancy the white rhino had been successfully breeding at the attraction in Burford. The animal gave birth to a second calf in August. A spokeswoman for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said: "Quarantine waivers are strictly controlled and only issued if certain criteria can be met by the premises of origin and destination. "APHA will work with the Isle of Wight Zoo to ensure that the correct procedures are followed."