The move came after anonymous allegations were made against Gary Wilson, who is also the zoo's chief operating officer. A zoo spokeswoman would not confirm the nature of the claims, but said they were treating them "extremely seriously". She also said that the police were not involved in the case. A spokeswoman for the zoo said that three other members of senior management were now running the attraction.

She said: "We regret to confirm that anonymous allegations have been made against a senior member of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland staff. "We are treating this extremely seriously and both internal and independent investigations are under way."