Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park (Closed) My opinion of Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park

S

Shorts

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Red Panda said:
its a great little zoo
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I'm sorry I've got to call your rose-tinted view of the place, your keeping repeating this statement doesn't make it true. I can only imagine the fact that so few people have visited the place has resulted in nobody challenging your opinion (which, of course, you're entitled to). I don't want to get into a debate highlighting why I think it's not great, by criticising it, but it really isn't. It's OKish, but far from great.

Red Panda said:
Id recommend a visit
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Are you going to pay for petrol:D. More seriously, even before the recentish petrol rises it was a long (and expensive) trip for most of the population and not really worthwhile for most people who have better places nearer to hand. A handful of curious zoo-nerds visiting isn't going to turn the place around and commercially I don't think it was a great geographical location to pick for a zoo.

All that said, I wish the place well and hope it can find a way of sustaining itself from what must be, in reality, a very small catchment area.
 
John D. wanted me to formally apologise for my review of the zoo in my book" The IZES Guide to British Zoos and Aquariums" having re-read it just now i was perfectly fair.I hate to say this because everyone there is trying to do a decent job but out of the 556 zoos ive seen it would be in the bottom 30%.That said i really wish them well in turning things around..Shorts is right tho perhaps zoo enthusiasts[nerds!] are not really the answer for the very simple reason that there are simply not enough of them[sadly].
 
Tim Brown said:
John D. wanted me to formally apologise for my review of the zoo in my book" The IZES Guide to British Zoos and Aquariums" having re-read it just now i was perfectly fair.I hate to say this because everyone there is trying to do a decent job but out of the 556 zoos ive seen it would be in the bottom 30%.That said i really wish them well in turning things around..Shorts is right tho perhaps zoo enthusiasts[nerds!] are not really the answer for the very simple reason that there are simply not enough of them[sadly].
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What a petty thing to say about the apology, that happened three years ago!
 
Perhaps, and i havent visited since that time - maybe it has significantly improved..nonetheless it is difficult to convince myself that there are not more pressing matters elsewhere in the zoo community.All of which sounds like sour grapes due to Johns reaction and that is not the case at all - i take no pleasure from seeing any half decent zoo struggle.However,i have to conclude that of the scores of zoos that have closed in this country in my lifetime maybe half a dozen are seriously missed.
 
For G.W.C.P. to say that their animals will be put down if they cannot get funding or obtain money for the winter months is just a sales pitch.....
It is not true that their animals will be put down as factually that is not true. No vet or other body will destroy a healthy animal let alone an exotic or exotic that is seen as endagered. It is a fact that the S.S.P.C.A. (R.S.P.C.A. equiv) will help police any such dispersal and along with other NGO's and DEFRA as well as local and Governmental Vet's including the Royal Dic; will all help oversee such animal movements if this park were to find itself in the difficult position of closing.
No vet or body worth their salt will put down healthy animals.

SO; get the facts correct. There will be no animals put down.;)

Shorts said:
I'm sorry I've got to call your rose-tinted view of the place, your keeping repeating this statement doesn't make it true. I can only imagine the fact that so few people have visited the place has resulted in nobody challenging your opinion (which, of course, you're entitled to). I don't want to get into a debate highlighting why I think it's not great, by criticising it, but it really isn't. It's OKish, but far from great.



Are you going to pay for petrol:D. More seriously, even before the recentish petrol rises it was a long (and expensive) trip for most of the population and not really worthwhile for most people who have better places nearer to hand. A handful of curious zoo-nerds visiting isn't going to turn the place around and commercially I don't think it was a great geographical location to pick for a zoo.

All that said, I wish the place well and hope it can find a way of sustaining itself from what must be, in reality, a very small catchment area.
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bigcat speciali said:
For G.W.C.P. to say that their animals will be put down if they cannot get funding or obtain money for the winter months is just a sales pitch.....


SO; get the facts correct. There will be no animals put down.;)
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Where is this supposed statement that was made by the park? From the statements I have seen (and I may have missed some) they are saying they are struggling but they have not said the animals will be put to sleep.
 
Mr T said:
Where is this supposed statement that was made by the park? From the statements I have seen (and I may have missed some) they are saying they are struggling but they have not said the animals will be put to sleep.
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The Park has been for a number of weeks now, within the Scottish and their own local area press publications, been releasing to the wider public that the animals will be put down. Also, in other posts on this site that there seems to be a rose-tinted view from some that the park is some fantastic world class zoo, which it is not, and that some are indeed asking for help with regards to this park.
 
bigcat speciali said:
The Park has been for a number of weeks now, within the Scottish and their own local area press publications, been releasing to the wider public that the animals will be put down. Also, in other posts on this site that there seems to be a rose-tinted view from some that the park is some fantastic world class zoo, which it is not, and that some are indeed asking for help with regards to this park.
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Do you have a link for these statements as if they are true then I agree that it would be a publicity stunt, but as I haven't seen these statements I can't say anything against the park.

As for it being world class, it clearly isn't, but it is a nice collection and people are well within their rights to ask for support for the establishment.
 
Mr T said:
Do you have a link for these statements as if they are true then I agree that it would be a publicity stunt, but as I haven't seen these statements I can't say anything against the park.
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Via a quick internet search I've found a story stating exactly as claimed on today's Daily Record Website. Sorry I'm not techy enough :o to put the link here.

Also, what's happened on the thread? My post was not the first, it was originally responding to someone else's post.
 
Thanks for the links guys. I think it is important to make the point that these are articles in a newspaper and not direct statements from the park. The quotes in the article say 'may' be put down if they can't find a home. I imagine that it would be possible for most if not all of these animals to be re-homed.
 
Very few of the animals if any would be put down,certainly the Lowland Anoa would be found a new home in another collection in the UK.

Having read the article it says they used to run a rescue centre in staffordshire,it wasn't advertised as a rescue centre it was the wonderfull Churnet Valley Wildlife Park they ran,and a use the term wonderful very losely!!
 
On reading the linked newspaper article, 25 grand seems a pretty small amount to keep a zoo running through the winter. Most zoos have had bad patchs at times, London, Dublin, Jersey etc. and with fundraising, donations and publicity managed to turn things round. So hopefully this can be the case here, although as an outsider i detect a degree of hostility towards this establishment from some posters, esp. the comments at the foot of the actual newspaper piece.
I had never heard of this zoo until now and so could not comment on its value, but I hope it manages to survive its current crisis, as it seems to have a nice collection of animals.
 
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