Mogo Zoo Lioness shot dead

A Lioness has been shot dead at a NSW zoo after it escaped from its enclosure and started heading towards a public area.

Visitors had to be locked away at Mogo Zoo, near Batemans Bay in south NSW, when nine-year-old lioness Jameila broke free.

Zoo owner Sally Padey said keepers tried to recapture the animal but had to shoot when it became a public threat, stating "it was a situation that could have been far more devastating than it already is."

It was the first animal escape in the zoo's 20-year history.