Waccatee Zoological Farm

Reviews 4

HA

Hannah Leedy

If it were up to me I wouldnt even give this place 1 star. It was absolutely disgusting. Cramped cages for the animals- all of them were unhealthy and pacing. All enclosures were disgusting and too tiny. This is NOT a family friendly zoo. There was no food or drinkable water in a single cage. The animals practically begged you to feed them. Everything was filthy and smelled terrible. We thought half the animals were dead. 0 staff out on the field. The only two were these rude and sluggish looking women inside who looked like they absolutely cared less. The black bear exhibit was especially sad. The bear didnt have much room to stand, and the only thing separating us was 2 layers of chain link fence. If it truly wanted to attack us it could have happened. We saw one exhibit with green grass- and they were goats. All of the animals looked underfed. You could purchase a bag of animal feed to throw at the animals- which Im sure was the only time the animals were fed. Lots of health issues: a black bear had a nasty cut on its face, and I watched a goat urinate blood. An ostrich had been picking its own feathers out due to boredom and lack of care. The snakes were kept in tanks that were DRASTICALLY too small for them- and as a snake owner I have done heavy research on proper living conditions and they were not met. The saddest of the animal abuse and neglect were the geese kept in a swamp area in the back. Their wings were clipped and they were kept in a fenced enclosure with no hope of flying off. We watched a yak scream and cry as it hit its head on a faucet, which we interpreted as it begging for water. Every single animal was panting heavily due to lack of water. In the beginning of the tour we saw this barn filled with antique cars and old taxidermy. We couldnt even tell what color the cars were due to the intense dust buildup. The air was musky and bugs were everywhere. Someone didnt want to take at least 15 minutes out of their time to wipe dust off a car- so how do you expect them to take care of the animals? The entire zoo seemed like some crotchety old mans farm that someone decided to convert into a zoo. It seemed like all the cages were falling apart and had been bought 40 years ago. There was even construction waste thrown into one of the larger cages towards the back. Overall this place is wrong, disgusting, negligent, absusize, uneducated, and immoral. I wouldnt waste your time and money there, and if you look through this zoo and think that everything is ok youre no better than the uncaring staff.

---

VA

Valchon

From the moment we walked in, my girlfriend and I were being eyed up by an older lady with short gray hair. The rest of the staff were either helpful or at least neutral. We spend a good deal of time admiring the exotic birds in the entry building, but the staff seemed almost bothered by us as if they wanted to continue their prior conversation. We headed outside with a purchased cup of animal feed. Nearly all of the outside cages were shoddy and barely holding themselves together. There were tools and landscaping equipment laying in and around the cages, occasionally finding themselves on the path as well. The enclosures were awful for most of the animals. The small monkeys were kept in small cages inside of sealed glass boxes. The alligator habitat was dirty, trash and debris laying in the water. The worst was the bear and large cat habitats. There was a black bear in a concrete and metal cage half the size of my room. The bear did nothing but pace around his small cage, not even acknowledging us. The animal displayed signs of psychological disorder associated with stressful captivity. The large cats were in similar circumstances, but at least had another animal in the cage with them. As we made our round trip, returning to the entrance building, we were looking at the bird inside, once again being eyed by the same gray haired lady. We began to play with one of the older birds, next to the African Gray Parrot, when this crotchety woman screamed loudly as us not to touch or agitate the bird. We were doing nothing harmful, and there were no signs or warnings to not interact with the animals, other than a "may bite" sign. Its really not difficult to tell your customers to not touch the bird, the way she handled it was completely unnecessary. A trip around a small, poorly maintained zoo with the worst, borderline cruel enclosures Ive seen, wrapped up by being screeched at louder than the Macaws. Ill never return and I hope no one else spends their time and money here instead of another zoo. Its amazing its legal for them to keep animals in these conditions.

---

A

A Private User

The habitats are too small for the animals, including the huge snakes housed in small dirty aquariums. The deer (particularly the females) looked emaciated; I think the only real food all of these animals get, besides hay, is the peanuts and gumball machine food that the visitors give. Most of the animals looked depressed. The bobcat seemed to have been placed in its trapping cage and remained there for the 2+ hours I was there (a cage it could barely stand in). The large cats and bears are in small confined areas. No room to really walk around. The "play toys" given to the baboons and lemurs are empty bleach bottles hanging from a string; it wouldnt be so bad if they werent eating them!!! One of the baboons also seemed to have a an enormous growth off its butt, that I dont think is normal. The chimp did nothing but neurotically go around in circles in the dome cage, while the "family dog" teases him. As the staff went around to feed some of the animals with hay, it used the gas powered 4 wheelers that reeked of fumes, which the animals smell all day, no doubt. This facility is not equipped nor appropriately staffed to care for these types of animals. They should stick to just being a petting zoo with lamas, lambs, goats, etc... Not having paved walkways didnt bother me; it was the way the animals lived and looked. I hope things change there. Also, watch out for the peacocks. They are EVERYWHERE; up in the trees, walking around, and are aggressive, especially if they think you have food. The tail feathers on some looked molted and unhealthy; coincidently, you can buy a peacock feather in the gift shop. If you go to Alligator Adventure, you can see how animals habitats should look. They have two large tigers, who have a much bigger habitat and look well taken care of.

---

KB

KBlifewithP

Should have read the reviews before coming here on vacation with my family. As I sit in the parking lot literally in tears with a terrible headache from the smell inside this place, I feel like a review is the least I could do. I am so heartbroken and in shock that this place is even running! It looks abandoned & condemed! The animals are pitiful and unhappy!! Should have walked out as soon as we walked in and saw snacks in broken glass aquariums ( if thats what they even were) HOW IS THIS PLACE STILL RUNNING?! the poor monkeys and lemurs have nothing but dusty and broken baby toys ( YES BABY TOYS) to play with?! Its actually extremely creepy. The poor baby alligator is in an enclosure with dangling wired lights and water thats basically empty... the bear is in a cage with absolutely NO GRASS or room to roam! . I feel discusitng and the fact I took my 7 month old daughter in there makes me feel like a terrible mother!! Exhibits are nothing but cages that are falling in on the animals, not to mention u cant even see half the animals because the cages are so thick and any type of class is filthy!! This place makes ashboro zoo look like a million bucks! Very disappointed and after reading the reviews I now know to read reviews before going anywhere!! This place isnt even worth a dollar entry fee!! Something needs to be done about this terrible "zoo". Seems to me they just threw a bunch of animals in cages and feed them garbage to keep them alive and moving.

---

---

Other organizations