THESE are the shocking images that have catapulted Knowsley Safari Park into the headlines following allegations that dead animals were left to rot in the open.

The attraction’s former photographer Penny Boyd, who resigned in September from the position she had held for five years, went public with the images of carcasses, which are featured in the Sun newspaper.

Among the disturbing images are deer and a bloodied baboon stuffed in a bin bag.

The Captive Animals’ Protection Society accused the safari park of leaving the corpses around for “many days and creating an environmental hazard and contravening the law on proper disposal of carcasses”.

Responding to the reports, the wildlife park’s boss David Ross confirmed Knowsley Council had thoroughly investigated the allegations.

The probe raised concerns over the storage and disposal of animal carcasses, which Mr Ross says has led to “robust new procedures” being swiftly installed.

Liz Tyson, director of The Captive Animals’ Protection Society, who were passed the pictures by Penny Boyd, said: “As we’ve seen here, corpses are sometimes left lying around for many days; creating an environmental hazard and contravening the law on proper disposal of carcasses.”

In a statement Knowsley Council said inspectors were satisfied any issues had been resolved.

It read: “We carried out a full inspection of the safari park alongside veterinarians from DEFRA in March 2010 and were satisfied that the standards of animal welfare and good practice met the requirements of the Zoo Licence.

“The council and its partners have thoroughly investigated these complaints and where any breaches were identified, appropriate action has been taken.”

Knowsley Safari Park General Manager, David Ross, responded: “It is a matter of sadness and regret that these allegations have been made by a member of staff who resigned in September last year.

“The allegations are particularly disappointing because the employee concerned was for many years closely involved in promoting the safari park, along with its animal welfare and conservation activities, even to the extent of appearing on TV and in the national press in this capacity.

“Nevertheless, Knowsley Council - who regularly inspect the park and are responsible for issuing our zoo licence have thoroughly investigated a number of allegations with our full co-operation.

“Only two issues have required further action by the park, both relating to operational matters - the storage and disposal of animal carcasses and firearms procedures.

“Both these have been swiftly addressed and robust new procedures are already in place and being implemented to the satisfaction of the relevant authorities.

“However, it is important to note that the photos show either stillborn animals, animals that died of natural causes, or as a result of fighting, or animals put down by the vet due to injury.

“In a park with almost 800 animals, some such deaths are inevitable.

“Of course, space is limited even in a park of this size and on occasion we may find ourselves with too many animals of a particular species.

“Our policy, whenever possible, is to move these surplus animals to other collections, and our keepers routinely inspect these new locations to check they are suitable before animals are moved.”