Animal Adventures Family Zoo & Rescue Center — Attraction in Bolton

This was such an amazing day for us as adults and for our children. We have seen the touring show a few times before, but didn't know we could visit the actual headquarters. And true to the #, it's way cooler than a zoo! Some people have complained about the appearance of this location, but it was so comfortable and hands on and the parking was easy and free. Everyone was SO welcoming, including the goats that greeted us in the parking lot. This center is focused on caring for their animals and for education humans about these exotic and sometimes domestic animals. They all LOVE their job and it shows. We paid for general admission and got the "cook's tour" from Brian. He let us lead the way and followed the interests of the kids and told us everything there was to know about any of the animals. He played with them and offered to let us hold the ones that were "holdable." You get right next to every animal, including the crocodiles and snakes and lizards, but also the emus, peacocks, monkey, lemurs, bobcat,, lynx, and more. We couldn't get enough of this place and the kids did not want to leave after being there for hours already. The tortoises have free reign over the backyard area and are clearly very comfortable there. The foxes are gorgeous and clearly have a good relationship with the staff. We loved seeing animals that we can usually only see online and in a zoo, but they were within a foot or inches of us. We felt very safe. If you pay for the private tours you get to feed certain animals and possible touch a few more not available to the general public. I would gladly donate to this center anytime and just wished we lived closer than 50 minutes away because we would probably work here and be here all the time. They also have an open bunny and pig pen to go play with them (touch, but don't pick up :-) There are owls, hawks, alpacas, goats, ducks, chickens, parrots, toucans, hairless rats, guinea pigs, a paca, kangaroos, and many more. Just when we thought we had seen them all, there were more to see. Everyone we met who worked there was so helpful. My daughter and I got to hold the ferrets, chameleon, lion haired bunny, hairless rat, toucan, and the snake! They should be charging so much more for what they offer and I hope they're able to have all the facility they need as they continue to grow. This center offers an amazing service to these animals and they are clearly passionate about what they do and they know their facts so well. There is a playground with swings for the kids right by the bunny/pig petting area. They have one bathroom on the premises and we pretty much had the place to ourselves by the time we left around 4pm. We loved every minute of it. They do sell some shirts and stuffed animals for anyone who wants something of a souvenir. They also sell goat food for $1, but let's be honest, the goats will eat anything. They're very sweet. Also, they do offer bunny and ferret (and probably guinea pig) adoption. Maybe even a few more of the domestic animals. What a great way to take some adorable animals home! If we didn't have animals at home that would be "prey" to ferrets, we would have brought two home I think. They are so sweet! Please give this place a visit. It's not a commercial place funded by lots of money, they are here to care for these animals and educate us. Thank you Jonathan and Brian and the rest of the staff for being so helpful and...

We were here 2 years ago for the capybara encounter and despite feeling sad after seeing the way many of the animals were kept, we returned this weekend for the otter encounter hoping that the other animals may have gotten upgrades in the past couple years. Unfortunately we were very let down. While the encounters were fun and the staff was very friendly, we left feeling disgusted by the keeping of the animals. The 2 kangaroos are in maybe a 10x10ft indoor box with nothing but newspapers on the floor, just laying there letting the flies buzz around them. The same as they were 2 years ago, and even 4 years ago judging by a photo in an older review here. The wallaby as well. The indoor alligator pool is nasty and way too small for them. The big cats have barely any space, certainly not to run or play. Just a ramp to lay on and a dirt floor. The bobcat had a tire and a cardboard box at least. The poor arctic fox in a dirty little enclosure out in the hot weather. 8-10 skunks all in one tiny enclosure with one hide to cram into. The ferrets were separated into 2 seperate enclosures, both so small that they were piled on top of each other with no room to themselves. I understand that ferrets like to cuddle puddle, but they also like to play and run around and had no room to get away from each other even if they wanted. 4-5 guinea pigs in a c&c cage size suitable for 2. There was maybe a 40gal fish tank with multiple rats inside. Rats are extremely smart and active creatures and NEED way more room than that. It cant be too hard to get them a critter nation cage, even donated. There is no excuse. The tank was worse off than even the "feeder" rats in reptile stores, yet these are your rescued animals?? The indoor section was SO hot and smelled SO badly that we couldnt breathe, and we were very quick to get out of there. I can't imagine how the animals are surviving in there. We frequent zoos and such quite often and have NEVER encountered such sad, small, dirty, and pathetic excuses for animal care (or lack thereof). The birds of prey are all in these small dome things outside. The rabbit area appeared to be a petting zoo with no supervision of the animals being handled by the public whatsoever. It was nice to see the Capybara enclosure has been updated since last time we were there, but it was really the only one. We were told a new 60k enclosure build was on the way for the new otters, but why haven't the animals that have been here for YEARS had any upgrades?? (Because the otters bring in extra money with the encounters, probably.) I understand these animals are rescues, but you need to start caring for the ones you already have before taking in more and more new ones with no space to put them. Please do not go here and support this place. If you love animals you will have your heart shattered.

Also a note for the owner- don't bother replying to my review. I already read through your responses to the other 1 star reviews, and you sound like an uneducated angry toddler behind the keyboard any time someone calls out the neglect of the animals here. Calling people liars even when they posted their reviews with photo proof? Come on, grow up and start focusing on the care of your animals- and then maybe you won't have to deal with all...

I'm not sure how anyone could rate this place anything higher than one star. This place is hell on earth for animals. They had approx. 6 alligators, 4 alligator snappers and countless other turtles in an approximately 10 ft by 4 ft cesspool without anyway to get out of the water. They were literally on top of each other, and not by choice. There were two old shelves and a couple planks of wood floating around on top of the water...oh and a few cinder blocks that looked like they had been in the water for years. They had an emu in 3 ft by 3 ft cage and two coati's that had obvious physiological disorders. All they did was pace in a repetitive pattern the whole time we were there. They had a skunk, porcupine and wallaby in cages far too small for their size. If you ask the people that work there they will tell you they "like small cages" or "it is for their own protection could you imagine how scary it would be for the animals outside!" I also want to mention that not one animal I asked about was a Rescue, despite all of their literature and website intro. that states they rescue their animals. They ask for donations to support rescues, yet every animal I asked about was purchased from a breeder including the wallabies, fennec fox, emu, coati, lemurs and owls. They are taking money from people under the premise that this is a rescue and it's NOT even close to one. How could a place that says they rescue their animals support wild and exotic animal breeding as well as the exotic pet trade industry, despicable. We also attended their animal performance/education event. Not much on the education, very heavy on the torment. The women said "the alligator stays in the cooler all day because it is too stressful to put him back in his tank in between performances." I am sure this is true, but how about they don't do it then! From what I could tell the other reptiles stayed in their tackle boxes all day too. So that means they are kept in complete darkness in containers literally no bigger than their bodies for hours on end. For a place that claims to "rescue" its animals i'm am pretty confused about their so called "education" programs. The women that presented to us had worked there for years and talked about how "these animals make great pets, as long as you do your research." I have never met anyone that rescues animals that also condones and supports the breeding and retail of the animals they rescue. Hummm.

The owls, that can fly and are not injured, are kept in a small cage outside. When we were there on an 80 degree day, their water bowl was bone dry with leaves in it. I'm pretty certain it had been empty for a while.

I would recommend this place for anyone that lacks all compassion for living things and wants to spend a couple hours watching animals suffer in this...