STAFF at Dudley Zoo and Castle are celebrating after scooping a hat-trick of honours for outstanding achievements in the zoological world.

The charity received three bronze awards at the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquarium (BIAZA) 2022 Awards.

The zoo’s southern cassowary enclosure, which was designed in-house by its bird keeping staff and opened last year, was awarded bronze for drawing on the geological significance of the local area and tying in the scientific and evolutionary links between fossils, dinosaurs and modern-day birds.

Camel keepers picked up a further award for their training of two juvenile Bactrian camels using sound and visual cues prior to their relocation to other animal collections, while the zoo’s recent successful hand rearing of Bennett’s wallaby, Barney, by ungulates acting team leader Laura Robbins received the third.

Zoo director Derek Grove said: “These three BIAZA awards are testament to the hard work our staff carry out here at Dudley Zoo and Castle on a daily basis and we’re delighted their dedication to conservation, education and animal welfare has also been recognised by experts from within the zoo community.”