For the collection yes, but lots of the enclosures are very outdated, so I think Wisconsin belongs at 2 for worst.
What is the worst state for zoos? U.S.A edition.
Adding to the Wisconsin debate:
And to quote @snowleopard :
This is an excellent summary. Tim Brown and I included both Milwaukee County Zoo and Henry Vilas Zoo with full reviews in our book America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums. We also gave the superb International Crane Foundation a slot in the back of the book as it is a great specialist facility. There are several zoos in Wisconsin that should make it into a book that could be called Snowleopard's Top 50 Worst Zoos He's Ever Visited.
I was in Wheeling WVA a few years ago but unfortunately we simply didn't have time to go to the zoo. Has anyone been there?
I also wouldn’t put Florida on the worst list, because of Zoo Miami and DAK.
As a native Michigander I can't tell you how much it pains me to say anything good about Ohio, but they have four very good zoos--Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.
I haven't been to the Disney outfit but I thought the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa was pretty good. I also liked the West Palm Beach zoo, which is fairly small.
The Cassowary
Well-Known Member
Also Jacksonville, Zoo Tampa, Busch Gardens, Seaworld, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, and the Florida Aquarium to name a few others. Florida just has a lot of zoos in general.
Yes, of course there are other good zoos in Florida, but Miami alone is enough to take it off the worst list.
Milwaukee easily makes the list, it's Wisconsin's only large zoo. But there are lots of great smaller collections, I can think of NEW, Henry Vilas, Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, International Crane Foundation, Wildwood Zoo, and Reiman Aquarium. Maybe Racine and Butterfly Gardens of Wisconsin, too.
Thank you for the reply. And you're sure these would be worth the visit from far abroad, like Arnhem, Berlin, Chester, Zürich, San Diego, Singapore etc.?
That depends - is this a devoted zoo trip? Or just a general vacation?
No offense - but who travels to Wisconsin from far away for vacation?
Apart from desperate British RomCom lads, of course:
New Hampshire doesn't belong on this list. They have Squam Lakes which is an INCREDIBLE AZA facility for native species, many of which are rescues. Might be my favorite facility in New England. Also, people who call Echo Leahy in Vermont an Aquarium likely have never been there. Are there fish? Yes. But it is 90% children's/science museum and 10% animals. The raptor center in Wyoming, though I've never been, is likely far closer to a zoo than what Vermont has. I know Mississippi doesn't have any AZA facilities, maybe it deserves Discussion on this thread?
I don't know who would - but I was just asking for clarity regarding the question. I assume you do mean a devoted zoo trip then? The I would say, if you are okay with visiting some smaller zoos on this trip and you are already in the state, then those collections I mentioned are absolutely worth visiting.
I've visited 520 zoos (413 zoos and 107 aquariums) in my life, and that includes 372 zoos (286 zoos and 86 aquariums) just in the United States. I know that those numbers are totally bonkers, but it's all true and detailed over the past dozen years on ZooChat.
Undoubtedly, the worst state in the U.S. for zoos is Wisconsin, but let us first look at a few other contenders that have been mentioned in this thread.
California - Naturally, the two big San Diego parks are regarded as world-class zoos and I've visited more than 60 of the 70 or so 'zoos' in California. There are many top-class facilities, but also a whole bunch that are quite poor. America's Teaching Zoo, Applegate, California Raptor Center, Folsom City, Forever Wild, Free Flight, Project Survival's Cat Haven, Reptile Zoo (ghastly!), Roundhouse Aquarium and Santa Monica Pier Aquarium are 10 establishments that I've personally visited and they are all rundown or old or with shoddy animal exhibits. There's also other places such as Hesperia Zoo, Lions Tigers & Bears, a SeaQuest Aquarium, Shambala Preserve and Wildlife Haven Ranch Sanctuary that make it 5 more that I have not visited...but all look rather dodgy. One could make the case that California has at least 15 mediocre to awful 'zoos', but there are so many very good ones in the state that it's a hotspot for zoo enthusiasts. In fact, even with 15 below-par menageries, California is arguably one of the very best states in the U.S. for zoos.
Florida - There is an overwhelming number of zoos and aquariums here, circa 125 or so, and it's mind-boggling to view some of the low-budget gator parks that proliferate in the state. Only around 17 of the zoos are AZA-accredited, which is alarming, but Florida still has a lot of top-notch facilities scattered everywhere.
Georgia - There's Zoo Atlanta, much improved in recent years, and one of the world's largest and best aquariums, but around 20 other places that I've never visited and don't really feel an urge to see!
There are other states that aren't very good for zoo fans, such as Arkansas and Idaho, but there are too few zoos there to actively complain about. Texas is a state where I've visited 45 out of the approximately 50 or so zoos, and there are a number of duds, but at the same time I could make the case that Texas is the #1 state in America for zoos. It's got some really fantastic places and in fact my co-author and I included exactly a dozen Texas zoos (one less than California's 13) in our book America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums.
Wisconsin - This state is so bad for zoos that after my 2018 road trip I immediately started looking at flights to visit the truly great zoos of Western Europe. Ha! It's true that Milwaukee County has its fans, but so much of the zoo was built 60 years ago. Henry Vilas is a very nice, free zoo that I'd recommend, but there are tons of awful duds on the list below.
Here are the 28 zoos of Wisconsin that I've been to:
Alligator Alley (Wisconsin Dells)
Animal Gardens Petting Zoo (Delavan)
Animal Haven Zoo (Weyauwega)
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (Green Bay)
Bear Den Zoo (Waterford)
Beaver Springs Park Aquarium (Wisconsin Dells)
Bruemmer Park Zoo (Kewaunee)
Doc’s Zoo (Bonduel)
Glacier Ridge Animal Farm (Van Dyne)
Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison)
International Crane Foundation (Baraboo)
Irvine Park & Zoo (Chippewa Falls)
Jo-Don Farms (Franksville)
Lincoln Park Zoo (Manitowoc)
MacKenzie Center (Poynette)
Menominee Park Zoo (Oshkosh)
Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee)
NEW (Northeastern Wisconsin) Zoo (Green Bay)
Ochsner Park Zoo (Baraboo)
Racine Zoo (Racine)
Shalom Wildlife Zoo (West Bend)
Special Memories Zoo (Greenville)
Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells)
Wilderness Walk Zoo (Hayward)
Wildwood Wildlife Park (Minocqua)
Wildwood Zoo (Marshfield)
Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue (Rock Springs)
Wisconsin Deer Park (Wisconsin Dells)
Undoubtedly, the worst state in the U.S. for zoos is Wisconsin, but let us first look at a few other contenders that have been mentioned in this thread.
California - Naturally, the two big San Diego parks are regarded as world-class zoos and I've visited more than 60 of the 70 or so 'zoos' in California. There are many top-class facilities, but also a whole bunch that are quite poor. America's Teaching Zoo, Applegate, California Raptor Center, Folsom City, Forever Wild, Free Flight, Project Survival's Cat Haven, Reptile Zoo (ghastly!), Roundhouse Aquarium and Santa Monica Pier Aquarium are 10 establishments that I've personally visited and they are all rundown or old or with shoddy animal exhibits. There's also other places such as Hesperia Zoo, Lions Tigers & Bears, a SeaQuest Aquarium, Shambala Preserve and Wildlife Haven Ranch Sanctuary that make it 5 more that I have not visited...but all look rather dodgy. One could make the case that California has at least 15 mediocre to awful 'zoos', but there are so many very good ones in the state that it's a hotspot for zoo enthusiasts. In fact, even with 15 below-par menageries, California is arguably one of the very best states in the U.S. for zoos.
Florida - There is an overwhelming number of zoos and aquariums here, circa 125 or so, and it's mind-boggling to view some of the low-budget gator parks that proliferate in the state. Only around 17 of the zoos are AZA-accredited, which is alarming, but Florida still has a lot of top-notch facilities scattered everywhere.
Georgia - There's Zoo Atlanta, much improved in recent years, and one of the world's largest and best aquariums, but around 20 other places that I've never visited and don't really feel an urge to see!
There are other states that aren't very good for zoo fans, such as Arkansas and Idaho, but there are too few zoos there to actively complain about. Texas is a state where I've visited 45 out of the approximately 50 or so zoos, and there are a number of duds, but at the same time I could make the case that Texas is the #1 state in America for zoos. It's got some really fantastic places and in fact my co-author and I included exactly a dozen Texas zoos (one less than California's 13) in our book America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums.
Wisconsin - This state is so bad for zoos that after my 2018 road trip I immediately started looking at flights to visit the truly great zoos of Western Europe. Ha! It's true that Milwaukee County has its fans, but so much of the zoo was built 60 years ago. Henry Vilas is a very nice, free zoo that I'd recommend, but there are tons of awful duds on the list below.
Here are the 28 zoos of Wisconsin that I've been to:
Alligator Alley (Wisconsin Dells)
Animal Gardens Petting Zoo (Delavan)
Animal Haven Zoo (Weyauwega)
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (Green Bay)
Bear Den Zoo (Waterford)
Beaver Springs Park Aquarium (Wisconsin Dells)
Bruemmer Park Zoo (Kewaunee)
Doc’s Zoo (Bonduel)
Glacier Ridge Animal Farm (Van Dyne)
Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison)
International Crane Foundation (Baraboo)
Irvine Park & Zoo (Chippewa Falls)
Jo-Don Farms (Franksville)
Lincoln Park Zoo (Manitowoc)
MacKenzie Center (Poynette)
Menominee Park Zoo (Oshkosh)
Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee)
NEW (Northeastern Wisconsin) Zoo (Green Bay)
Ochsner Park Zoo (Baraboo)
Racine Zoo (Racine)
Shalom Wildlife Zoo (West Bend)
Special Memories Zoo (Greenville)
Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells)
Wilderness Walk Zoo (Hayward)
Wildwood Wildlife Park (Minocqua)
Wildwood Zoo (Marshfield)
Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue (Rock Springs)
Wisconsin Deer Park (Wisconsin Dells)
Being banned someplace is pretty much the polar opposite to going on vacation there. And both left Wisconsin as soon as they could, without visiting a zoo, thus proving @snowleopard 's dictum right.Angels who have been exiled there from heaven after defying Alanis Morrisette
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Girafarig
Well-Known Member
Gotcha, though Vermont might be better for animal welfare then.