Five-hour council meeting to discuss fate of South Lakes Safari Zoo Zoo bosses are celebrating after their licence was renewed for six more years. Barrow Council’s licensing committee agreed after a hearing which was held behind closed doors yesterday and lasted for nearly five hours that Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd can continue to operate the South Lakes Safari Zoo. Karen Brewer, CEO of the firm which runs the Dalton zoo, said it was ‘absolutely fantastic’ news. She said: “We are over the moon, every one of us. We can just get on with things for the next six years, it’s wonderful.