Wowcher apologizes after email joke about toddler zoo incident sparks outrage

Wowcher apologized after a marketing email used the line “Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid,” tying a sales pitch to the serious injury of a three-year-old boy at Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Screenshots of the message spread rapidly on social media, and customers responded with anger, saying they had unsubscribed.

The company said the wording was “unacceptable” and issued an unreserved apology, adding that the email should never have been written and was never approved for use. Wowcher said it was urgently reviewing how its processes failed, checking scheduled marketing content and strengthening its creative, approval and sign-off safeguards. The episode has become a stark example of marketing governance failure, showing how weak oversight can let a shock-value line reach customers at the worst possible moment.

The email appeared to reference an incident on Thursday, June 18, when police were called at 1.24pm to Johnsons of Old Hurst, a family-run business near Cambridge that includes a butchers, farm shop, tea room, steakhouse and zoo. The site is home to more than 100 animals, including crocodiles, lions, tigers, sloth bears, capybaras and meerkats. A three-year-old boy was left in a critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge after entering a crocodile enclosure.

Cambridgeshire Police arrested a 30-year-old man from Norfolk on suspicion of attempted murder. Police later said he had been assessed as not fit for interview and released on bail until September 18, 2026. Detective Inspector Verity McCann said detectives from the force’s Major Crime Unit were speaking to people who were at the zoo to understand the circumstances, and police said the child and the arrested man were not believed to know each other.

Johnsons of Old Hurst said its Tropical House would remain closed until further notice. For a business already tied to a fast-moving child-injury investigation, the email turned poor judgment into a broader public trust problem and raised questions about how automated or careless brand messaging can deepen harm when families, hospital staff and a local community are still dealing with the consequences.