Mole Hall Wildlife Park closes » Mole Hall Wildlife Park

Mole Hall Wildlife Park closes
17-09-2008

Sadly, Mole Hall Wildlife Park has closed due to the terminal illness of the owner, Douglas Johnstone.

17-09-2008

That is a shame...
But surely their are staff there capable of managing it, or if not,why not bring a new manager in. Without any revenue coming in at all, how long can the collection be cared for adequately....

18-09-2008

Thats a pity with a bit of money the place could have been quite a reasonable small collection.Also sorry to hear about the owner.

19-09-2008

I agree, a real shame.. im gutted i never got to visit. Does anyone have any pictures of the place they could add to the gallery?

What are peoples veiws on Mole Halls future?

Do you think it will close for good? or be sold perhaps?

19-09-2008

Unless someone buys it that has alot of money think it will be best off closing for good,as on my last visit it was like stepping back in a time warp to the late 60`s early 70`s.

19-09-2008

Only ever visited once and that was way back in 94 and vowed never again. Don't know if it improved over the last 14 yrs but it was in a sorry state back then.

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19-09-2008

How big was Mole Hall?

19-09-2008

Would say it had only got worse since your visit but at least it didn`t have rotting food in the enclosures like one collection i visited 4 years ago.

19-09-2008

I went last year. Not at all keen. I think I put some pics in the gallery a while back. Quite a biog place but space was wasted.Will check.

24-09-2008

A visit to Mole Hall yesterday reveal that many of the animals have already been dispersed after the park's official closure a fortnight ago.

There is nothing more depressing than an empty, closed zoo.

Oban Sealife Centre, Slimbridge, Shepreth, Exmoor Zoo, Rodbaston College and others are all taking on animals. The Chimps look set to head to Spain.

The dispersal of the stock has been coodinated by Matthew Ford of Specialist Wildlife Services. Does anyone know about this organisation? I was unfamiliar with it until now. Specialist Wildlife Services - About Us

25-09-2008

Arrr, 2 of our work expericne students are form Rodbaston and told us they had had 10 Capuchins in from a zoo. They didn't know where they had come from, that must be it.

25-09-2008

Very intresting website seem to have re-homed alot of stuff strange that we have never heard of the place before.

25-09-2008

Wow, that was fast!!!

Does anyone have much idea of what animals Mole Hall had immediately prior to closure? I'm particularly interested in what species may have gone to Exmoor - not been there for a few years but I really liked it, very nice friendly small zoo, and it seems to have progressed quite a lot since then with the addition of more large mammals.

26-09-2008

About 10 Canadian Otters, 2 Asian Short-clawed Otters, Eagle Owls, Snowy Owls, a dozen or so Flamingos, herds of Red, Fallow and Formosan Sika Deer, 2 Chimpanzees, 7 or more Brown Capuchins, Common Marmoset (maybe Lemurs and squirrel monkeys too), Red-necked Wallaby, Guanacos, Muntjac, Sarus Crane, a whole host of waterfowl and many domestic animals. Thats a rough idea.

The male Sarus Crane went to Exmoor.

Mole Hall Rehoming
30-09-2008

It is true that Mole Hall has closed its gates for the final time.
There was never any chance of a 'rescue' package as the zoo has lost money 41 years out of 43 years of opening. The park was in a general state of decline with 90% of the caging requiring replacing / modernising to bring it up to modern zoo standards, hence the reason for the rapid dispersal of the livestock.


The last of the animals should be re-homed within the week, with the exception of the 2 chimps. They are heading for sunnier weather at the Mona sanctuary in spain to live out their final days.The 2 chimps were originally saved from the lab trade in the late sixties by the owner of the park.

Once everything has left and I have tied up all the loose ends with the paperwork, I am producing a short article for the BIAZA newsletter. If there is any interest I can post it on this site for those who are not BIAZA members to see.

Just to clarify Rodbaston Animal Zone have 4 Capuchin with the 3 young males going to run as a batchelor group at Battersea Park Zoo who have recently lost their old male.