Meerkat pub offering 'something unique'

The landlord of a pub which offers punters the chance to cuddle with a meerkat has said the animals "love the attention".

The Royal Oak Inn and Meerkat Retreat in Brockham, Surrey, claim to be the only UK pub with such an offering, which landlord Chris Collier said came about by chance.

After approaching a few zoos in 2023, Collier said he "got a call out of the blue a year later" about rescuing seven meerkats whose owner had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Collier soon discovered that the Royal Oak needed a new landlord, so he, plus seven meerkats, moved in two weeks later.

He said: "I really didn't think it would happen, but everything fell into place. We had the Brockham Bonfire, which attracted crowds of punters on the first day, then the next day the meerkats arrived.

"We had built a special enclosure for them in the pub garden but were told we had to hide them away from the public as we didn't have a zoo licence."

Collier has since applied for the requisite licence, which is still in progress.

But the landlord said it had not all been plain sailing.

One male meerkat had to be hand-reared in Collier's home after being ostracised from the group, he said. Another meerkat died, while three females have been pregnant.

Collier admitted that the first few months were a "steep learning curve".

"We hadn't planned to breed the meerkats, but it happened and suddenly we had seven babies. We neutered the females so it wouldn't happen again," he added.

While the original meerkats were not tame, the "new babies" underwent a four-week handling programme and began interacting with customers, he said.

"We've since continued with the human interaction as the meerkats love the attention and it's beneficial for them," Collier added.

There are now two remaining adults and five babies.

Collier said: "We are currently running meerkat breakfasts on Saturday mornings, and they are really popular with kids and adults."

The landlord said he believed that in a struggling industry, it was "good to diversify and offer something unique".

"Pubs needs to be more than beer and burgers nowadays, so we're offering beer and meerkats," he added.

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