There are certainly a lot of cheaply made wooden cages at this zoo. Usually top-notch otter exhibits are a dime a dozen but this one looks pretty dodgy. What was your overall impression of the zoo?
De Paay appears to be simply someone's back garden collection of animals opened to the public to offset running costs. It's very basic, and it is indeed reminiscent of the seedier end of the British zoo scene - very un-Dutch.
As it is clearly run on a small budget I'm loathe to put the boot in too far, but it's safe to say it was by some distance the 'least good' zoo we did on this trip. Besides the zoo nerd's delight of the grison and a handful of other interesting species (Milky Eagle Owl, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Blue-bellied Roller) the only real points of interest are one or two bizarre exhibit designs like the coatis and keas.
I don't remember any animals looking in poor health, so it's certainly not problematic from that angle. But it was very untidy and could be made to look much better with a weekend's work removing random tools/hoses/rolls of chicken wire etc and adding a little extra enclosure furnishing here and there. Would cost a little, but not too much.
De Paay appears to be simply someone's back garden collection of animals opened to the public to offset running costs. It's very basic, and it is indeed reminiscent of the seedier end of the British zoo scene - very un-Dutch.
I was at this zoo yesterday, and, back home, have taken the chance to review the comments that have been made about it on Zoochat.
Of course, it is not a lavish place in which architecture is of a high standard and design is everything. In fact, it really is the ultimate back garden collection, occasionally open to the public, with, as far as I could tell, one bloke running things (and holding down a job as a teacher as well!), with a few volunteers.
The animals are all in pretty good condition, from what I could see. The setting is lovely. And, of course, the species are, sometimes, extraordinary. On previous days, I had visited Antwerp, Blijdorp and Artis - the ultimate EAZA zoos, and very good too. But while it would be foolish to suggest that de Paay can compare to those places, there is something wonderful about a place where someone has an interest in keeping unusual animals precisely because they are unusual.
