Sorry for the essay guys, but this zoo really got to me....
yes it is true i have been to many zoos and still amazon world showed me some animals i cannot ever remember seeing before. HOWEVER the encolusures were unbelivably bare and many of the animals appeared very distressed. I could not believe the state of their meerkats with their huge overwight bellies and chewed tails and glazed expression. Yeah you may never have seen some of their toucans before, but do you really want to see such a beautiful bird in cage where it could hop from one side to the other (not even needing to fly) and has just a partner, a perch and a food bowl with no other enrichment or place to hide? you really may aswell look at a photo!
What really annoyed me was that there were "enclosures" with plastic crops in them, demonstrating where peppers etc grow, which were bigger than the animal enclosures, where is the sense in that?
The animals at amazon world are strange, new and exciting, until you look up close! (and that is if you can bare the heat and smell in the buildings to stay and look for long enough). The park also has great playing facilites for kids and does seem to try and do its bit for conservation, but i have seen other zoos and parks where animals look great in captivity and this place is just the opposite.
Also their slogan, "something new every time", what happens to the animals taken off exhibit? are they sent to somewhere else and put throught the stress of being moved and learning a new routine somwhere else? or are they hidden in even worse cages out the back somehwere for a couple of seasons? a dog is for life, not just for xmas!!!
They have the money, the space and the animals, they just need to sort themselves out!