Secret Valley Wildlife Park & Exotic Animal Rescue — Attraction in The Municipal District of New Ross

Really poor spot. Lots of concerns but mostly centred around the condition and living quarters for their relatively small collection of animals. If you have any love for animals then avoid...

A lot of animals were in small enclosures and pacing in distress. No staff around to explain about the animals. Some of the enclosures were so overgrown you couldnt see the animals that were supposedly inside. Many of the wilder animals were reportedly "rescued" from poor conditions with the park supposedly acting as a santuary for them. I would really question these credentials as I was genuinely upset with the conditions some of the animals were kept in and their behaviour. There were even signs suggesting how one could donate to support the parks rescue efforts. The conditions in the park may have been a step up from where the animals were kept before but it was a far cry from any animal centred rescue park. There was one monkey supposedly rescued from a lab who we were advised was easily upset and didn't like banging on the glass - but as most kids can't read signs (or its their secondary thought) and the monkey was being kept in a tiny enclosure with a glass panel it ended up spending most of its time in a box with people banging on it's one window to the world... a step up from being a lab monkey maybe but not by much!

The farm animals seemed happy and well looked after but as they are animals bred to be used to human interaction and captivity they are probably well suited to this type of environment.

Expensive entry fee.

Everywhere we went there was something broken or half finished- ie a fence or part of an outdoor monkey enclosure. All with hand written signs claiming the area was 'under construction' or 'being improved'. Given that there was no evidence of works going on when we were there, the signs seemed haphazard, most areas seemed broken as opposed to mid construction and there was no notice of ongoing works on their website/facebook page/in person upon arrival i would hazard a guess that when things were broken or damaged they were just fenced off and marked as 'under construction/rennovation' to avoid fixing or improving anything.

Pony rides weren't going ahead because of "covid" (this visit was summer 2022 with no other protection measures in place).

There was an extra charge for a very bumpy and rather disappointing "train" ride.

Playground looked good from a distance but was poor (not even a swing) and was in an enormous field away from main area with very little seating. There were some wellies lying around for what I guess was supposed to be wellie throwing games. Nothing was organised. No staff around to help. No signs.

Ashtrays were in the outdoor picnic area beside where some outdoor games set up. This totally perplexed me. Given that it was summer time and covid was still around most families were choosing to sit outside. I have never been to a family park which has actively encouraged adults to smoke in the vicinity of the children who are present. It was totally bizarre and would have really annoyed me if someone lit up at a picnic bench beside my young kids given that we had paid an high fee to be there in the first place. Surely a smokers area well away from children's play areas and eating places and with dirty ashtrays out of reach of little hands would have made much more sense. We are in Ireland 2022 - this should be standard

I have been to lots of different farms and wildlife parks - many in Ireland and this is up there with the worst I have ever seen. Animals in poor condition and poor living quarters, lots of areas rundown and "under construction", smoking in children's areas encouraged - save your money, time, sanity and conscience and...

We visited on a weekday. The carpark only had a handful of cars in it and at first we were worried that the place was closed, but when we got to the entrance and saw a LOT of young boys we realised it was open and there was a school field trip visiting the farm too.

Positives- Tickets are very reasonably priced with concessions made for disabled guests and carers-bookable via website or buy them on arrival. The cafe serves a very nice oat milk latte! Staff were really friendly, informative and interacted with our boy, answering all of his questions about the animals. There is a lovely selection of animals to see, from reptiles and creepy crawlies to several different primates, donkeys and otters (my favourites!). Animals generally appear well cared for. There is plenty for younger children to do, including a bouncy castle and ride on pedal tractors. There is a lake walk if this takes your fancy. Upon entry you will receive a map of the farm which is easy to follow, as well as times of different activities around the farm including opportunities to learn more about the animals, handle them and feed them. We really enjoyed bottle feeding the beautiful kids.

Negatives- No picnic food to be consumed in the indoor seating areas. On a rainy day this could be a cause for contention. There are picnic tables dotted around the farm but again, in the rain these are a little miserable. We thought if we bought hot drinks it would be OK to eat our sandwiches inside the seating area overlooking the bouncy castle whilst our boy was playing on it, but there are signs saying this is not allowed due to health and safety (unsure why). The farm is a little rough around the edges, the terrain isn't the most accessible by wheelchair, for example. I understand that this is unlikely to be a priority around the farm, and naturally there'll be grassy areas and gravel and uneven camber, but I do think there are areas that could be easily improved, such as the entrance into the farm from the café-this is a very steep and uneven slope which could easily be made into a more gradual incline. I can imagine that some people may find this extremely difficult to navigate. The otter enclosure and giant rabbit enclosures made us a little sad-the otters only had a couple of inches of water to swim in, and the rabbits didn't have enough space to run around, given their size. We hope this can be given some thought. We love being able to see different animals in captivity as long as they have all their wants and needs catered to. Generally I find farming practices to be contentious, and there's far too much to say on the topic for me to even begin!

Overall, if you have children to entertain for the day it's well...

This is the most immersive experience in Ireland you can have with a lot of these animals! This is zoo is brilliant! It’s animal friendly. The staff are super friendly, very well Educated on how to care for these Animals, you can tell how much they really care about the well being of these animals and I’ve seen them take such great care of these animals. The animals receive lots of enrichment, They get different types of food that are good for them and their enclosures are big and contain lots of enrichments. It’s hard to explain, but you can just feel a sort of magic here, you can feel so much love, fun and happiness here. This place has everything, It has bouncy castles, amazing food, Lots of treats, Quad biking, Those little trains for the kids that go around the park, there are also Shows where they feed the animals and educate the audience on the animals but They also do Meet and Great where you get to hold animals like tortoises and your can pet a lot of them as well! If you go, I would recommend doing the senior keeper experience because you get to experience what it’s like to be a keeper, You get to create your own in which for the animals, You can feed the animals and a lot of them you can hand feed, You can bring the alpacas for a walk, You can pet a lot of the animals, You can clean the enclosures and you can learn more about the animals, oh and Breakfast and lunch is free when you do the senior keeper package. Even if you don’t do the senior keeper package, you can still do awesome things like feeding llamas or alpacas, petting a huge Tortoises, Holding or petting animals at the animals meet and greet session where they also educate you on the animals Like insects, reptiles, and rodents. This place has So many animals that you can’t see in it zoo in Ireland at least from what I checked out! It’s very simple, straightforward and easy to drive to from places like Dublin. Coming here makes you feel like a kid again, You can’t help but smile and feel happy when you are here! They are always coming up with new ideas to make the animals feel happier. This is one of my favourite places in Ireland! They also do great defence during the holidays so definitely worth visiting here...