Small Private UK zoos

Z

ZooMan Texas

Active Member
I am the founder and owner/director of a small zoo in Texas in the U.S. I will be visiting the UK at the end of August. I would like some suggestions of small private zoos in the UK to contact and visit.
 
There are heaps. Here's just a few better known ones off the top of my head:

Africa Alive!
Banham Zoo
Blackbrook Zoo
Dartmoor Zoo Park
Drusillas Park Zoo
Exmoor Zoo
Hamerton Zoo
Linton Zoo
Paradise Wildlife Park
Shepreth Wildlife Park
Trotters World of Animals
Welsh Mountain Zoo
Yorkshire Wildlife Park

That's just some of the better-known, small for-profit zoos. It doesn't include the big safari parks or larger zoo enterprises like Colchester, Blackpool, South Lakes and Cotswold.

As far as narrowing that list down, that's probably something for UK residents to help with. Can I ask what zoo you yourself are from?
 
What about Wingham Wildlife Park, Lakeland Wildlife Oasis and Shaldon Wildlife Trust?
 
Depends what you mean by 'private' - if you mean 'not owned/operated by local government' than that covers pretty much every UK zoo, with only a few exceptions (Belfast, Lotherton Hall, Tropical World (Leeds) and I think Birmingham Nature Centre).

If you mean private individuals/companies and exclude charities then that does exclude most of the larger zoos, but most of the smaller places would still count.
 
This comes from Capital of Texas Zoo. And what I mean by 'private' is owned by one person or family.We would like to start developing new contacts in other countries, as we develop our conservation programs. For example, right now we are working with the Chinese on an in situ conservation program for the Chinese Alligator. We have joined WPA, and as this group seems to be centered in the UK, and we want to pick a gamebird project next, we thought the next logical step is to make some friends there
 
ZooMan Texas said:
This comes from Capital of Texas Zoo. And what I mean by 'private' is owned by one person or family.We would like to start developing new contacts in other countries, as we develop our conservation programs. For example, right now we are working with the Chinese on an in situ conservation program for the Chinese Alligator. We have joined WPA, and as this group seems to be centered in the UK, and we want to pick a gamebird project next, we thought the next logical step is to make some friends there
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That would be most of the smaller zoo's already listed i would have thought. I help out at a family run, newly opened small zoo called Wingz Bird Sanctuary if you want to contact them.
 
Privately owned means it is a commercial buisness, where as a trust or foundation is publicly owned and managed as a non profit charity by a board of trustees.
 
pinkback said:
Privately owned means it is a commercial buisness, where as a trust or foundation is publicly owned and managed as a non profit charity by a board of trustees.
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That's right

Chlidonias said:
aren't the majority of zoos in the UK small private zoos?
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Yes, it is a majority, there are more small private zoos:-

Amazonia Zoo
Thrigby Wildlife Gardens
New Forest Wildlife Park
Chestnut Centre Conservation Park
Tropical Wings Zoo
Porfell Wildlife Park and Sanctuary
Coombe Martin Wildlife Park
Battersea Park Children's Zoo
Paradise Park
Amazon World Zoo Park
Isle of Wight Zoo
Folly Farm
Manor House Wildlife Park
Galloway Wildlife Conservation Park
Five Sisters Zoo Park
 
jordan-12 said:
Noah's Ark is always good:)
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Somebody hold me down!

To cut a long rant short:
Noah's ark may be 'good' from an enclosure perspective, but in terms of education, public perception and the very naive attitude of 'home of the big zoo animals' it most certainly is not good.
 
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