Guzoo animal farm

Why is African Lion Safari and the Oshawa zoo listed under the Ontario roadside zoos, they are both creddited by CAZA

 

@WrithedHornbill: GuZoo is indeed a horrible little zoo, but it's been like that for so many years now that the majority of Canadian politicians have simply forgotten about it.

@Quartz92: you are right about the African Lion Safari park, as it is definitely an accredited institution. However, the Oshawa zoo is not a member of the Canadian Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Here is a link that provides a directory for the 30 members of CAZA:

Membership Directory - CAZA, Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums

 

I already have posted lengthy, comprehensive reports on the infamous GuZoo animal farm from 2004, 2007 and 2008...but today I found yet another report from 2000. It is a massive collection of reviews of many Canadian roadside zoos, and it was conducted by an ex-Toronto Zoo keeper named Marilyn Cole. For those of you that can't get enough of GuZoo then check out pages 30-35 of this report. Sadly no photos in this one to turn the stomach, although the author does state that "this facility is a disgrace to the people of Alberta", and her opinion is that it should be shut down.

http://zoocheck.com/Reportpdfs/Prairie Zoos.pdf

It is kind of mindboggling that GuZoo has remained open to the public ever since the disastrous 2000 review, and even with the appalling photos plastered all over the internet. The author of this review also states that "the proprietors have no understanding of proper animal husbandry". I suppose that about sums it up.

 

I'm not chosing sides but if they were givin some money and some time would they maybe use it to help in the animal captivity situations?

 

Money/time to help the zoo ?

How long has Guzoo been operating in the current state ?
How much MORE time would be needed to make improvements ?!
Can anyone be certain that extra funding will be used for the animals best welfare ?

I would like/hope to think that this is the answer , but I am not going to hold my breath with the information that I have seen/read of this place to date .

 

Is this just happening to me? can anyone see nigels post? it says he posted something but its not there?

 

Money/time to help the zoo ? repost of my message

How long has Guzoo been operating in the current state ?
How much MORE time would be needed to make improvements ?!
Can anyone be certain that extra funding will be used for the animals best welfare ?

I would like/hope to think that this is the answer , but I am not going to hold my breath with the information that I have seen/read of this place to date .

 

I don't know the basics, and I know that you can't be certain but I do think that every place deserves a second chance. Even though they don't treat animals fairly, we don't know the reasoning behind it to judge. So, the funds may be that reason. I hope I made sense.

 

Quartz 92 , thankyou for your response.
I agree with you in principle
I know of 2 zoos that have originally started out as "back yard menageries" or however anyone else would describe these .
There is potential for all animal collections to improve over time .

However , this does not appear to have happened very much in this case , and the FoZ leader has not yet provided much information that would convince many of us that anyone who is seriously concerned about animal husbandry that this institution is worth keeping in existance . The fact that he was very sick a while back is sad , but somewhat irrelevant .
To date he has not answered our queries re vet care etc .
I look forward to a specific response to these questions , so I might (possibly) feel a little more sympathetic towards Guzoo

This sort of place creates fuel for organisations like PETA , who then go and tar every other zoo in the world with the same brush .

I sincerely hope that this institution will improve its quality -- for the animals sake . But I am not going to hold my breath .
If any place cannot afford the funds to look after the animals properly , it should close . This includes Guzoo . I have suggested that if the institution cant afford to properly house its animals , perhaps it should at least downsize

If we are really interested in animal welfare , we SHOULD judge the worst of the worst . This is part of what the forum is all about , no ?

 

I see were you are comming from even though they are bad, from what I have read and seen, I have never been, I think they can still improve, maybe drasticly. I do agree they should down size and grow up from there maturly. They maybe should go under new managment, but alll together they need to make some serious improvments.

 

I agree wholeheatedly with your last message .
Youve got it in a nutshell .

I would like to see a plan of the place , if nothing else , to try and make more helpful ideas for solutions . But would the management listen ?
I am somewhat pessimistic on that one .

Are there any zoos in Ont. that started out like this , but have made improvements over the years ?

 

It seems that zoo has been lackluster for up to a decade and despite public pressure the owner seems to have no willingness or even inclination to improve it... It looks like the world would be better off without this roadside zoo...

 

The Bomanville Zoo did, they weren't as bad, but they aventually got credited, as well as the Oshawa zoo, but they zoo is acepptional now.

 

I'll make the appropriate changes to the 'Roadside Zoo' list! Thanks guys.

I am very interested in seeing whether or not AnimalPassions will answer your very valid questions or if she has left for good... I have spoken to her in the past and have only been met with defensiveness and excuses for my concerns. I'm hoping that in the company of fellow zoo enthusiasts and not with someone that she considers to be an extremist, she will answer the questions...

To those that are interested, I have video footage from our visit to Guzoo in May that show the conditions better...and people cannot complain of angles or cropping in the video.

I also made an effort to keep the Animal Rightsy-ness of the videos to a minimum

Part One...
YouTube - Guzoo Animal Farm - Definition of a Roadside Zoo - 2008

Part Two...
YouTube - Guzoo Animal Farm - 2008 - PART TWO

Macaque Escape...
YouTube - Macaque Escapes At Guzoo

 

Hmmm, the usual sights at GuZoo are found on the videos. Rotting meat on the ground, pacing tigers, a pika in a wire cage, feces all over animals...pleasant.

 

I wonder what these "Friends of the Zoo" are really doing about this institution ?
I mean , even if they decided to clean out all of the cages PROPERLY and put in some decent substrate/enrichment/whatever the animal is lacking most , and spending only a couple of hundred dollars -- this would improve the place big time .
Even Alma Park in Brisbane is better than this , even though there is precious little to commend Alma Park for ......

Perhaps Guiness Book of Records would like to consider this place for the worst zoo in a developed country ?

 

Zoos have been under attack for some time. It's really nothing new. Please read this 4 page article on Zoocheck and other animal rights groups.

Western Standard

 

Two weeks ago the AR bunch went so far as to accuse the Guzoo of sending animals into space. I am not making this up either.

The AR people will do and say anything at all to get the Guzoo shut down. Next on their chopping block is the Discovery wildlife park.

 

I read the entire 4-page article, and I admit that it doesn't make the credentials of the anti-zoo brigade look that impressive. But at the same time, ZooBeat member Nigel did a great job of summing up GuZoo with the words "worst zoo in a developed country". Regardless of what kind of reports there have been made about GuZoo, one can choose to ignore them all and base an opinion on the numerous photographs that are contained within the extensive reports. And those photos are absolutely shocking...and make GuZoo arguably the worst zoo in Canada, and a candidate for worst zoo worldwide. It's amazing that the wildlife laws are so lax in the world's second largest country, and that the Gustafson's have so far escaped prosecution.

Also, Discovery Wildlife Park should have been shut down years ago. They'll probably never build their proposed ark...

 

Give me some time and I will post some real photos of Guzoo from 3 weeks ago.