7,000 animals they said.

6,000 of them jackdaws, mice

and sparrows getting the best

free handout in Cheshire.

800 were people collecting

the rip off entry charge,

begging for donations on top,

selling over priced, crap souvenirs

and peddling junk food.

One was the tiger sleeping

in his shed.

Blinking through his torpor

at the camera flashes

from the milling horde

excited to see an animal.

Sixteen were the huge fish

whose mouths were the only

movement in the tiny tank.

7,000 animals.

Only 6,800 of them

were parasites.