Don-O-Ray Farm Adventure — Attraction in Kelowna

The petting zoo is a great place to spend time with young kids. It's mainly kids of preschool age to under 10, with their parents or grandparents. The vast majority of kids/families are well-behaved, but there's always a few who don't feel the need to watch their children and make sure they're playing and interacting with the animals safely. The staff are great. They are very good with both the children and adults. They were very friendly and welcoming, but also able to easily remind everyone of the rules and expectations (without talking down to anyone). The maze is a lot of fun, but should definitely be accompanied by an adult. The room that you need to go through with the hanging pool noodle obstacles is genius. Such a smart way to do it, and the kids love it. The free airbrush tattoos are such a fun bonus! An extra tattoo is only $2, which is totally reasonable. I have 2 suggestions for visitors to be aware of, and that the staff might want to think about changing.

1. I'd strongly suggest that they have a warning at the maze entrance about the dragons at the dead ends. The dragons are just tiny cute stuffies, but they roar quite loudly from a speaker underneath them that is prompted by a motion sensor. The noise can definitely scare the kiddos, especially if they aren't expecting it.
2. the airbrush tattoos: the artist is be wearing a mask, and they should have much better filtration/air flow in there. If a parent gets a headrush from the fumes when just watching their child get tattooed, I can't imagine how bad it is to be in there all day. Or even for the kids who get...

I refuse to believe that there are people who believe the enclosures and living conditions of these poor animals are humane. Went in solely for my sweet little 2 year old niece alongside my relatives, but had to leave within 5 minutes and cried in the car immediately after. The owners of this place clearly have no understanding of the nature of each animal and the environmental and social needs they require for a good quality of life. I felt sick to my stomach seeing the two sheep in a small grassless fenced area. I’ll never get the image of that sad pony completely alone standing in a small dirt covered area out of my head. I could go on about each of the enclosures but I’ll spare readers the details. There is no way the SPCA has deemed this place ethical. To the families looking for a fun activity for their children, completely understandable that the idea of interacting with animals is fun for your little one, but I beg you look around for places that prioritize animal welfare. People who truly care about animals do not allow them to be handled in a free-for-all manner all day...

CONCERNED ANIMAL LOVER

Our family visited O’Ray’s Farm in Kelowna yesterday. While we enjoyed parts of the experience, there were a couple of things that deeply concerned us.

We noticed that the duck enclosure was quite small and only had a tiny pool, despite housing a large number of ducks. When we asked if the ducks were ever given more space or access to another area, the staff member told us they were not. She also mentioned that the four older ducks are territorial and prevent the younger ducks from using the pool — meaning many of them never have access to water, which seems quite unfair and potentially harmful. It would be more appropriate if the younger ducks had a separate space or pool to meet their needs.

Additionally, we were concerned about the peacock enclosure, which also appeared to be very small with limited room for movement.

While I’m not fully aware of the regulations regarding enclosures for farm animals, these situations felt troubling, and I wanted to bring them to your attention out of care...