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- West Midlands Safari Park
- Katja's review
| Value for Money | 7.3/10  |
|---|---|
| Reviewer Rating | 7.9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 8.2/10  |
By Katja
on 25th Apr 2005
| Date of visit (month/year) | 3/05 |
|---|---|
| Ages suited for | All ages |
| Other info / Tips? | Not supplied |
| Value for money | 1/10 |
| Overall value | 1/10 |
 Katja's recommendation | |
The breeding of white animals that have no conservation value
The keeping and feeding of African ungulates in a way that resembles cattle
The lack of enrichment in both the safari park and the "zoo"
The close proximity of the animals to noisy rides in the carnival
The very small enclosure and pool for the three seals that were on display and the fact the lack of an off show area for them
The obvious behavioural problems of the ostriches where many had been pecked free of feathers on the back
West Midland Safari Park has the potential to be a good zoo and safari park and a centre for conservation, but sadly it fails on all points. Despite the ample space available in the safari park, the enclosures were mostly very barren and in the case of the ostriches and emus overcrowded. The park seems to specialise in the breeding of white animals with no conservation value in order to draw customers. To top it off the sign relating to two white tiger cubs were misleading in that it stated that white tigers were endangered because they had not been seen in the wild for about 50 years, but it did not mention that they are in fact a mutation and NOT a separate type of tiger and that this mutation is caused by a recessive gene which means that in order to breed the animals to be white they are usually inbred to at least some extent.
In addition to these things, the "zoo" and recreation area were unsatisfactory in that the seals were given a very small area and nowhere to hide when they were on show, the hippos seemed to be kept simply in the lake and one female hippo with a calf was obviouly ill with foam at her eyes and open sores. This "hippo lake" was also very close to the noisy rides of the carnival which are likely cause the animals a lot of stress.
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