Oshawa Zoo & Fun Farm — Attraction in Oshawa

For the May long weekend, kiddos wanted to visit the zoo for the first time in the 2022 season. Given how far we live, I called ahead on Sunday (around mid day) to make sure they were indeed open. Couldn't get a hold of anyone, and the answering machine message didn't say they were closed. The hours posted on their website also confirmed they are open that day as well as the following holiday Monday.

We bought passes online, made the 90min drive, only to see a closure sign (due to storm damage from the previous day). Kids were very disappointed, wanted to see the animals thru the fence before we turned around to leave. So I parked on the side of the road to let them walk closer to the fence for a brief moment. I stayed in the car, but as soon as my kids and spouse got out the car, some workers on tractors working in the zoo shouted at them that they were trespassing on private property and to leave right away. That's fine, it is indeed a private property, and we were just off of the public right of way and presumaly could have been trespassed (that's within the zoo's legal right to do so).

I feel deeply for the owners/workers that they were forced to close and do a lot of work to clean up after a severe weather event. At the same time, it would have been helpful to have a quick answering machine update regarding the closure. I wouldn't expect them to update the website so quickly, though that would've been appreciated too. An answering machine update would take only a minute out of their busy schedule, so families making the trip on a long weekend (some from relatively far away, like us) would not make the trip for nothing. Time is precious (and gas costs an arm and a leg, for working class people like us).

We left right away after the stern warning, but having a worker ask us to leave, rather than shouting about "trespass on private property" as an opening warning, would have been appreciated.

We will still look to use the zoo passes later in the season, and wish the zoo owners/workers all the best with the clean up. But to be honest, if it weren't for the kids really wanting to go, I would not want to make the drive...

I have a couple concerns. When you first go in they offer you popcorn to feed the animals which is extremely salty and should not be fed to the animals. The lama's need to be trimmed. There coats are matted up and not to mention how hot they must be in this weather. Also one of the goats horn was bleeding because it was putting its head thru the wire fence and could almost no get it back in, so maybe make the wire holes bigger on the fence so the goats don't get there heads stuck all the time. The lemurs and foxes enclosure is small and they are active animals. The animals mouths must get very dry from eating salty popcorn and corn all day you guys should have little bags of fresh veggies to feed the animals for a more refreshing snack. And pls fill there water more often there is popcorn and dirt in it. I also don't see any water buckets for the horses or grain buckets. The horses also seem very annoyed by the flies in there eyes I think they should have fly masks on. I was also wondering why the animals don't have any food bowls not all of the animals are going to get fed during the day by people, like for the little ones it is harder to get food when the other male ones are pushing them out of the way. You should separate the male goats and the female and baby goats to protect the little ones from the horns of the big ones. It is upsetting seeing them hurting eachother to get to the food. Also there was a goat by its self in a pen it and looked very sad, it had no grass in its pen to eat. All the animals look pretty sad like the horse, probably from the dry food and all the heat. Waiting to hear back from you, I would like to discuss some feedback I have if you are...

Great spot for families with toddlers. It’s evident that the owners made some upgrades to the buildings during the pandemic and the grounds are always well kept. I believe that the use of the iPad to scan your QR code for entry rather than families names written in a big book is also a new feature at the zoo. The food truck style canteen has a good selection if you want to buy lunch there which includes burgers, sandwiches and fries. We always bring a light snack and sit at the picnic tables.

Since opening again June 2021 - my opinion Is that it is less entertaining with the new restrictions of not being able to hand feed the animals (my toddlers were told to throw the popcorn to the animals). While there, lots of people were hand feeding the animals and none of the zoo workers seemed to be enforcing the rules stipulated by the front desk. I understand that the health of both the animals and the guests is at the forefront however, the parts of the zoo that were the most engaging for my kids are gone; the baby chicks at the entrance are gone and the raisins for the lemurs are also gone. Heads up, you also have to bring your own bucket for popcorn now or buy a tiny paper bag full.

Our total time at the zoo was 1 hour which included the 10 minute line-up (it was the first day they were opened again so imagine that time will come down significantly), walk around the zoo visiting every animal with two toddlers, and a snack at the...