Welsh Mountain Zoo Appalling Off-Show Aviary

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SMR

SMR

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10+ year member
I visited the Welsh Mountain Zoo today, a zoo I have mixed feelings about because in my opinion many of its enclosures are completely unsuitable (and quite disgraceful).

To cut a long story short, I found myself on the path that leads to the white-tailed sea eagles' aviary. At the end of it is an old cottage which has been run down for some time, but I was surprised to hear the sounds of birds coming from its open window. The place looks dirty and unkempt, the curtains were closed so it seemed an unlikely location for any off-show animals.



Worse still, there was the faint sound of raptors coming from behind it.

Like most zoo nerds, I went to look (there were no barriers to prevent me from doing so) and around the back the first thing I became aware of was a terrible stench. One of those smells that lingers long after it has gone.

The smell was coming from a number of off-show aviaries, one of which was holding Harris hawk. The conditions were truly horrible. The entire aviary was caked with faeces. Two plastic pipes lead into the aviary and I can only assume water is poured down one and food down the other as there was a filthy drinking trough and a couple of dead chicks at their ends.



It has been a while since I have been shocked by zoo conditions, and especially so in a UK collection. Conditions like these simply aren't acceptable, on- or off-show.



I'm sorry the only camera with me that could shoot through the mesh was my 'cell phone, but the images are evidence enough.
 
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Thanks for posting this honest report, and are you going to contact the zoo about the situation? Is there a type of government agency that would bring this situation to the general public via a news release?
 
I'll contact the zoo about it, and possibly the local authority. I'll also be reporting this to the RSPB, who ironically had a stand at the zoo.
 
Wow! Was that water bowl in the second pic the only one you could see available to them? Please let us know what the zoo have to say in response, I'm shocked. I am also in Wales next week and was thinking about going out of our way to visit here as have never been, but will rethink now & maybe spend more time in Chester instead.
 
There is no doubt at all that these photos are fairly dreadful, and suggest that the keeping of these hawks at the zoo is well below what might be seen to be an acceptable level.

However, I would be wary of condemning the place just yet. There may be an explanation. May. It could be that this "aviary" is not normally used, but the hawks were placed there in an emergency. It certainly doesn't look good, but I would think it wrong to condemn the place before they have had a chance to put forward their defence.
 
If this is found by snooping at one zoo, think how many poor off show enclosures there must be around the country.
 
I agree with Sooty Mangebey. It is very easy to make a quick judgement upon seeing a poor off-show aviary, but there may well be an explanantion about its condition. I have to say that it is a reality that sometimes an off-show holding cage/aviary is not always kept up to the same standards that you would expect to see on public view, it isnt right obviously, but it does happen. The on-show enclosures may be regarded as the "shop-window" of the zoo whereas the off-show areas could be regarded as the "storage areas" - in truth are the storage areas always as good as the shop window ?? I have seen several poor off-show cages and aviaries at various UK zoos in the past but that in itself doesn`t make a bad zoo necessarily. The other thing to bear in mind is that raptors have a habit of defaecating copius white faeces behind their perching which always leads to a mess quite quickly especially on wooden fencing which is not easily cleaned off if mesh is in front of it. I agree the water bowl was pretty awful, luckily raptors actually drink quite rarely - which is some
concellation in this case.
 
Clinton Keeling always maintained that cleanliness was totally unnatural and exhibits had to be kept clean merely as a sop to misinformed public opinion. The WMZ is one of my favourites and nothing will change that. It is unreasonable to expect behind the scenes areas (and I should never dream of investigating them unless invited to do so by a member of staff) to be as clean as those on display to visitors. At one zoo I visit I was informed the off-show area for a Touraco was not cleaned for a year after the bird's arrival - the Touraco remained in fine fettle, just as the birds in the photographs appear to be.
 
Parrotsandrew said:
Clinton Keeling always maintained that cleanliness was totally unnatural and exhibits had to be kept clean merely as a sop to misinformed public opinion. The WMZ is one of my favourites and nothing will change that. It is unreasonable to expect behind the scenes areas (and I should never dream of investigating them unless invited to do so by a member of staff) to be as clean as those on display to visitors. At one zoo I visit I was informed the off-show area for a Touraco was not cleaned for a year after the bird's arrival - the Touraco remained in fine fettle, just as the birds in the photographs appear to be.
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I have to kind of agree with you. I keep canaries and there cage and perches is covered in poo from time to time. They are kept clean and well, so the odd spot of poo is not a problem. In fact I think that sometimes animal enclosures are disturbed to often to clean up. But I don't think there is an excuse for stagnant water.
 
From what I can see in these images it's not great, too small, perches too close to walls as well as over food/water etc.

However, the 2 recently fledged chicks in the lower image look in great condition.

By the look of the worried parent birds in the first image thankfully you had not disturbed the birds a few months earlier. Or disturbed far rarer/endangered animals during their breeding cycle than Harris' Hawks.
 
How horrible!

Are the birds in the second photo also Harris's Hawks? Also, did you investigate what birds were held inside the actual building?

~Thylo:cool:
 
I showed the pics to my other half who is far more experienced with captive birds of prey than me-he suggested its not that unusual to have periods of staying out of enclosures during breeding season & the feeding through tubes etc suggest that is what they have done here. Apparently places like Cotswold falconry do it fairly often & it can help birds that are not great breeders be successful. However, he also said the last picture in particular shows a fair build up of excrement and dirt and if it got much messier than that before they go in to clean it then you could suggest they are taking the technique a bit far, but as the youngsters are fledged hopefully the keepers will be back in there cleaning soon and it is just bad timing that you found the aviaries right at the end of breeding when it will look its worst. He wasn't impressed by the state of the water though & felt the younger birds look like they could do with a chance to bathe. Still interested to hear the zoo's response.
 
It looks neglected at first sight, but its clearly a breeding aviary which has been left completely alone while the birds were breeding. Even the mesh at the back has been covered, it appears, to give extra seclusion and avoid disturbance. Its also possible the birds would attack if people entered to clean while they are breeding?

My only real critisism would be the water container could have been flushed out (using the pipe) properly with clean water.

I'm sure if challenged, that the Zoo would state these reasons for the condition of this aviary.
 
Please guys, you have got to be kidding, you are all giving the idea that if it is off show or in breeding situation then it is acceptable, in my opinion there is no excuse whatsoever to have off show areas filthy dirty for any reason, regardless of whether or not the birds or whatever animal live in an enclosure the water should be good enough for the keeper to drink, that should be the standard to go by, if the animals cannot be kept in clean conditions for breeding or whatever else then they should not be bred, are harris hawks needed that bad??
 
I think that we are also forgetting the seemingly bad condition of the building that those smaller birds could be heard from.

~Thylo:cool:
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I think that we are also forgetting the seemingly bad condition of the building that those smaller birds could be heard from.

~Thylo:cool:
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These is no evidence that the smaller birds in that house are in bad conditions. IMHO It's like looking at any zoo quarantine building and saying that the animals in there are seemingly in bad conditions. The windows are covered but is it standard not having off show animals available to the public? I think the cottage looks a bit tatty from the outside but it could hold some small passerines species in quarantine?
 
canaryboy said:
These is no evidence that the smaller birds in that house are in bad conditions. IMHO It's like looking at any zoo quarantine building and saying that the animals in there are seemingly in bad conditions.
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I know that. I was just wondering if SMR looked into it.

~Thylo:cool:
 
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