Papanack Park Zoo — Attraction in Alfred and Plantagenet

Conditions: All the wild animals in enclosures were listless, bored, and looked skinny and mangey. All of the enclosed animals were either lying down in a corner or constantly pacing back and forth. Some enclosures had green/brown dirty water and foul rotten smells. It was 30 degrees that day, and we noticed most enclosures were in open fields. Cold habitat animals (Alaskan bear, Arctic fox, etc.) along with several tropical species that require shade and moisture (such as the lemurs, Monkeys, parrots and tropical birds, and Siberian Tigers, etc.) were a concern here. We did not understand why our local species such as raccoons, foxes, owls and other birds were confined to small enclosures when they’re natural habitat is already our back yard.

Safety concerns: The fencing beside one of the lion enclosures was wobbly and most of the enclosures had rotten boards and rusty nails sticking out. This made me very nervous as I have a two year old that wants to see everything in the park. When he would lean up against some of the fences the whole fence would sway back and forth. Most of the enclosures had what looked like old kids toys or broken jungle gyms, old tires etc. They were filled with plastic and human junk rather than trees or natural type structures.

As you walked in, there was a wolf (outside) and other small animals (inside) that were in small cages with signs on the front that read “photo opportunity”. We asked the owner (I believe it was the owner, not 100% sure), why they did that. We were told it was for “educational purposes”, however, there is a clear sign right on the cage that says “photo opportunity” - simply to take a close up photo of the animal. The cage inside was extremely filthy, with flies engulfing piles of excrement and the rotting food dish. This is right when you walk in, so this is one of the first we saw. So before I left, I made a comment “his cage is kind of dirty, no?”. The comment was shrugged off and I was told that the cages were cleaned earlier, as if it didn’t matter. We came around opening.

We inquired about what they did with the animals in the winter, and were given an unclear answer. We asked if they had a list of all the species for the clients to look at; no answer. After only 2 questions that any visitor would ask, I was rudely asked if I was an animal rights activist. I responded “No, I am a paying customer. I am curious”. Unfortunately, there was no clear answer to most of our questions.

There was an inspector there that day - we chatted. The inspector admitted the conditions were not good, but there are still unfortunately NO LAWS in Ontario preventing zoo keeping. SO THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN. Please share and raise awareness. Never support animal cruelty and bad conditions of captivity. Conservation/rehabilitation should be the sole purposes of wildlife captivity. There is a sign in front when you enter the zoo that says “conservation and preservation is our goal”.....Our goal was to see if that was true. For the first time, a child should not see a once majestic wild animal in confinement in such a clearly depressed state. It was not educational, and when we did have questions the employees were seemingly not around. The only employee (or owner) we saw was when we paid and left. Zoos like Papanack profit off of people so they can see a lion or tiger, and allow the animals to suffer in poor conditions for that profit to the owners. I don’t need to tell you that that is immoral and unethical.

Positives: they had several FARM animals; cows, miniature horses, goats (some could roam freely), alpacas, a donkey (in normally large farm like enclosures), and several ducks and chickens (which were able to roam freely), which was nice. These animals were able to interact with one another and the humans (petting/feeding treats), and were more energetic than any of the animals in enclosures because they were in appropriate living conditions/climate for their species. The goats were extremely friendly and ate right out of your hand - would make a fine...

Id be curious to know how many of the people with issues here have recently been into the zoo as patrons and had the opportunity to talk with the caretakers that work there.

I spent a great day there with my family today. They were courteous and informative and very good stewards of the animals in their care. My daughter was treated to one on one time with various creatures as well as the keepers and we were given a load of great information to take home. We walked with the 2 of main caretakers through half of the zoo and they told us stories about all the animals. How they got there. How they were raised or rehabilitated. About their natural habitats and behaviours. Etc etc. There was a true passion and sense of responsibility demonstrated by all the staff we interacted with.

We were also told about the PR issues that they were having as we are from out of town and had no knowledge of this. We were informed about the steps the new management are taking to remedy the problems left by the previous owners. Their honesty and concern is the motivation behind this post.

Thought for haters: Instead of going on a witch hunt and destroying this quaint and fun family experience why not get involved, volunteer or donate to make the place better for the people and animals involved?

There is a legitimate argument that these animals should be left in their natural state and environment to live the life they're meant to but there are times that that is not possible. A lot of these animals are rescues. Most seem to be treated as pets. They appear to be loved and well taken care of. This place gives children a chance to appreciate wildlife in a close up, hands on way so that they in turn become better stewards of the environment and wildlife; which, in turn, will save far more animals then taking these ones and releasing them to the wild or a refuge.

If you see snippits of video clips and read cutting headlines geared to sell papers and raise funds for biased organizations long enough its hard to see the good. Im generally cynical about these sorts of programs. Ive been around the world and seen lots that should be closed. I have a strong belief in wildlife conservation, reef and ocean regeneration and protection efforts of all kinds. Anyone who abuses animals in a deliberate way should not be left unnoticed. I have also worked on farms and with large animals and know full well if you wait and watch most farmers you will see things that look to be cruel or unusual that are in fact best practices based on knowledge of a particular type or personality of a given animal. Not that this excuses actual abuse. Also, not that this is what i assume happens at Papanack.

These guys do not seem like bad folks at all and are running a good program. Walk through the park with an open mind and listen to the message they're trying to send. If you think theres something wrong help make it better instead of bombing it off the face of the earth. There are people out there that will benefit greatly from the work Papanack is doing. I know we all enjoyed ourselves and will be back when we are...

Went today with family and had a terrible time. Snack stand one young girl operating, half the menu wasn't available and guests were lined up, one mom trying very hard to keep her two very young kids occupied while they waited 45 minutes for ONE FRENCH FRY and the drinks. None of the food I ordered was available and so when I ordered something else, the French fries were burnt and tasted gross. I brought to the attention of BROOKE (THE OWNERS DAUGHTER WHO CLEARLY FELT ENTITLED TO TREAT CUSTOMERS LIKE TRASH) Who told me fresh ones would be the same because the grease needed changed. She has so much attitude, and was even causing a scene. I explained to her that many customers, like myself and my family with kids where also in the sand boat just waiting impatiently terrible. she was offended, and raised her voice. I told her that was no way to treat a customer who just paid almost$60 to spend the day. She went on and I left the area. Then I went and talked to the front manager , Cameron who gave me back a measely $2.25 for the fries while Brooke snapped at Cameron and said "if you give her that money she's not getting more fries ". Then I overhead a worker talking to the front manager Cameron complaining about ME!! saying to ignore my reactions and went on. I said I heard that and it's no way to treat a customer. The place wasn't well kept, nothing like it was last year when we had a wonderful day. This time I was being chastised by some kid because her parents own the place and my kids didn't get to eat. I will never go back there to such an unprofessional place!!!! I am a VICE PRESIDENT in my firm and I would never talk to the CEO OR JANITOR the way they treated me. And they left a poor 15 year old girl to deal with all the unhappy customers until BROOKE came to help. Never again. There were many unhappy customers. I was just willing to vocalized...