Dartmoor Zoological Park
Encyclopedia
Dartmoor Zoological Park is a 30 acres (12.1 ha) zoological garden located near the village of Sparkwell, on the south-west edge of Dartmoor
, in the county of Devon
in the South West of England.
Formerly known as Dartmoor Wildlife Park, it had been opened in 1968 by Ellis Daw on farmland bought by his family in 1948. During a time of crisis, it was forced to close to the public on April 23, 2006. In August of that year, it was bought by the Mee family consisting of mother Amelia and brothers Ben and Duncan Mee
, for £1.1m, who reopened the zoo to the public in July 2007 after a major refurbishment.
, also wrote a book about his experience refurbishing and living at the zoo, We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Changed Their Lives Forever.
Although "Ben's Zoo" was not followed by a second series, it was aired in several overseas locations and on Nat Geo Wild throughout May 2010.
In 2009, 20th Century Fox
purchased the film rights to Mee's book. Filming on We Bought a Zoo
began in January 2011 under the direction of Cameron Crowe
(Almost Famous
, Jerry Maguire
) following a rewrite of the original adaptation written by Aline Brosh McKenna
(The Devil Wears Prada
).
Matt Damon
stars alongside Scarlett Johannson, Thomas Haden Church
, Colin Ford
, Patrick Fugit
, and Elle Fanning
. and the film is scheduled for release in the U.S. and U.K. on 23 December 2011.
The project is produced by Julie Yorn (Bride Wars
, Max Payne
) and Mark Gordon
, (Saving Private Ryan
, The Day After Tomorrow
, Tomb Raider
).
raised questions about the welfare of the animals and the conditions in which they were kept, even though there had been no accidents in the zoo's 33-year history. The group criticised the living conditions for the animals and the safety barriers, calling for the zoo's license to be revoked. The council were reluctant to revoke the zoo's license, due to concerns over the future of the animals, but did charge Ellis Daw with 16 offences after the zoo was investigated. All but one of these charges were dropped, but Ellis Daw was found guilty of breeding Siberian tigers outside of an organised breeding programme, and of keeping them in poor conditions. For this, Daw received a £200 fine and a conditional discharge
, and the tigers were sent to a wildlife centre in Holland.
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, in the county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in the South West of England.
Formerly known as Dartmoor Wildlife Park, it had been opened in 1968 by Ellis Daw on farmland bought by his family in 1948. During a time of crisis, it was forced to close to the public on April 23, 2006. In August of that year, it was bought by the Mee family consisting of mother Amelia and brothers Ben and Duncan Mee
Cerberus Investigations Limited
Cerberus Investigations Limited is a Corporate and Intellectual Property Investigations company headquartered in London, England. Cerberus was founded in 2005...
, for £1.1m, who reopened the zoo to the public in July 2007 after a major refurbishment.
Book, Film & TV
In 2007, it was the subject of a four part television documentary, entitled Ben's Zoo, which followed owner Benjamin Mee and other staff as they revamped the park for the 21st century. It was shown on BBC Two in November and December of that year. Benjamin Mee, a former DIY columnist for The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, also wrote a book about his experience refurbishing and living at the zoo, We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Changed Their Lives Forever.
Although "Ben's Zoo" was not followed by a second series, it was aired in several overseas locations and on Nat Geo Wild throughout May 2010.
In 2009, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
purchased the film rights to Mee's book. Filming on We Bought a Zoo
We Bought a Zoo
We Bought a Zoo is an upcoming comedy-drama film directed by Cameron Crowe starring Matt Damon, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford, Scarlett Johansson, Desi Lydic, Patrick Fugit, and Elle Fanning....
began in January 2011 under the direction of Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
(Almost Famous
Almost Famous
Almost Famous is a 2000 musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater , and his efforts to get his first cover story published...
, Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
) following a rewrite of the original adaptation written by Aline Brosh McKenna
Aline Brosh McKenna
Aline Brosh McKenna is an American screenwriter.McKenna was born in France and moved with her family to New Jersey, where she lived variously in Fort Lee, Demarest and Montvale, and attended Saddle River Day School in Saddle River, New Jersey.She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University,...
(The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada (film)
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 comedy-drama film, a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs, a recent college graduate who goes to New York City and gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful and demanding fashion magazine...
).
Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
stars alongside Scarlett Johannson, Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor. After co-starring in the 1990s sitcom Wings, Church became well known for his film roles, including his Academy Award-nominated performance in Sideways and his role as the Sandman in Spider-Man 3.-Early life:Church, the fourth of six children, was born...
, Colin Ford
Colin Ford
Colin Ford is an American child actor and voice actor. He is best known for his role as young Sam Winchester in the 2005 TV Series, Supernatural.-Biography:...
, Patrick Fugit
Patrick Fugit
Patrick Raymond Fugit is an American actor best known for his debut performance in the lead role of Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.-Career:...
, and Elle Fanning
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning , credited as Elle Fanning, is an American actress. She is the younger sister of actress Dakota Fanning and mainly known for her starring roles in Phoebe in Wonderland, Somewhere, Super 8 and We Bought a Zoo which will receive a theatrical release on December 23,...
. and the film is scheduled for release in the U.S. and U.K. on 23 December 2011.
The project is produced by Julie Yorn (Bride Wars
Bride Wars
Bride Wars is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson....
, Max Payne
Max Payne
Max Payne is a BAFTA Award–winning third-person shooter video game developed by Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the GameBoy Advance were published by...
) and Mark Gordon
Mark Gordon
Mark Gordon is an American television and film producer.- Background :Gordon was born in Newport News, Virginia on October 10, 1956...
, (Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
, The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
, Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was originally released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, with MS-DOS and PlayStation versions following shortly thereafter...
).
A Difficult Past
The original Dartmoor Wildlife Park became the subject of local debate after a 2001 report by the Captive Animals Protection SocietyCaptive Animals Protection Society
The Captive Animals' Protection Society is a UK charity campaigning to end the use of animals in entertainment, including circuses, zoos, the exotic pet trade and the audio-visual industry.-History:...
raised questions about the welfare of the animals and the conditions in which they were kept, even though there had been no accidents in the zoo's 33-year history. The group criticised the living conditions for the animals and the safety barriers, calling for the zoo's license to be revoked. The council were reluctant to revoke the zoo's license, due to concerns over the future of the animals, but did charge Ellis Daw with 16 offences after the zoo was investigated. All but one of these charges were dropped, but Ellis Daw was found guilty of breeding Siberian tigers outside of an organised breeding programme, and of keeping them in poor conditions. For this, Daw received a £200 fine and a conditional discharge
Conditional discharge
A discharge is a type of sentence where no punishment is imposed. An absolute discharge is unconditional: the defendant is not punished, and the case is over. In some jurisdictions, an absolute discharge means there is no conviction despite a finding that the defendant is guilty...
, and the tigers were sent to a wildlife centre in Holland.