DierenPark Amersfoort — Attraction in Amersfoort

First of all this zoo is very beautiful, nicely decorated and lovely to see, BUT there were quite some upsetting things I want to point out.

Let’s start at the beginning: if you have a dog, like I do, it’s nice because dogs are allowed inside the park, BUT oh please be careful!!! Right behind the entrance are some prairie animals sitting behind an ELECTRIC FLOOR!!! IT IS NOT VISIBLE TO NON-DUTCH SPEAKERS THAT YOUR DOG WILL GET ELECTROCUTED IF WALKING ON THAT FLOOR!!!! If you don’t wear any shoes or fall on it YOU WILL GET AN ELECTRIC SHOCK as well!! Even though there is a kind of security person, don’t even think they will warn you. In my case she did it right AFTER my dog got an electric shock. Thank you very much...

There is another way to go around those prairie animals but if it’s busy - like it was when I went there - you will not see it immediately. So be careful.

Another thing annoying me like crazy is the map and signs confusing the hell out of you. It isn’t clear at all where the exit is. When it’s getting dark you can’t see anything at all, because they shut off the lights and we were so lost, because there aren’t always signs where the exit is. Even a person working there got kind of lost helping us to find our way back.

And if you have to go to the toilet, be prepared to be disappointed. I went from one side of the park to the other because some toilets were just closed but signs were still pointing towards them, so I had to walk until some signs pointed towards another direction. Took me about 15min to find another toilet.

I’m very disappointed. The whole experience was ruined by the electrocution of my dog, who was so traumatized afterwards it took her hours to recover. And the worst thing of all was: this happed MULTIPLE TIMES during my visit there. When I left the zoo I heard another dog crying because apparently it walked on the electric floor as well. We even heard stories about small dogs getting shocked, too. So THIS is an absolutely terrible and awful thing to happen.

Either the zoo has to fix this big problem or even more dogs will get hurt. I really hope they fix it, because it’s a beautiful zoo after all.

I’d love to change my review and the 2 stars, if the zoo will change at least the problem with the...

Honestly very disappointed with this place in terms of animal welfare and communication. I understand the park is targetted at children, but we were disappointed with how little care is paid to how the animals feel - as another reviewer has said, Its basically a playground, no respect for the animals. I have visited many zoos, and never been to one this loud and out of control, where nobody, especially children, is told off for anything. There is no instruction on how to behave or any signs to leave the animals alone. I saw several children KNOCKING and KICKING the glass at several animals, not just one or two - there is no sign not to touch the glass, even more so not to kick or knock it, and both parents and employees blissfully ignore this behaviour. I think putting up signs would be a start with minimum effort - when I messaged the Dierenpark they replied (in a week), that they are doing as much as possible to instruct their visitors (we were visitors and didnt notice any of that happening) and that animals are their priority - blatant lie. I dont understand, how this can be legal in Netherlands. Also seeing many comments on small enclosures, which is very true, animals had...

Excellent zoo. Animals have plenty of space to roam about and most of them either have been rescued (i.e. have injuries that make it impossible for them to go back to their natural habitat) or belong to some ex-situ recovery plan (i.e. they are at risk of extinction due to human pressure to their biosystems). This means that some animals might be reintroduced to the wild at a later date, which is something all zoos should be aiming at.

Also, well prepared for children - you'll find plenty of slides during your visit- and well trained personnel who act fast and reliably in case of any eventuality. Some of the animals may interact with the visitors to some extent, which could cause problems especially with children, but the staff is ready to act before any problems arise.

On the negative side, there's a lack of informative texts in English (everything is in Dutch) and the addition of the scientific names of the animals would be welcome.

Also, food based on sandwiches which are reasonably good although a little pricey, as usual in the...