The zoo say the pandemic had a detrimental impact on redevlopment
A zoo located in the West Midlands has come under fire from visitors who claim it is like something out of a “zombie apocalypse” and is keeping “sad and abandoned animals” trapped there. The venue has now fired back.
Responding to a series of damning TripAdvisor reviews, one of which was titled, “Scenes from The Last Us without the zombies is on par with this place”, a spokesperson for Dudley Zoo and Castle in the Black Country has had a busy time responding.
After another commenter remarked that their experience was “heartbreaking,” with animals looking “miserable and bored in their dirty, drab enclosures,” not to mention giraffes “eating flaking paint” and sea lions left in “dirty green water,” the admin provided a rather extensive reply:
“Many thanks for offering your feedback, it is appreciated and we do take it on board and make adjustments if possible. Recent closures over the past two years due to the Covid pandemic did cause delays to our projects and resulted in a detrimental financial impact.”
After the reviewer also claimed that the orangutangs looked like “sad and abandoned animals,” the employee assured them that a new enclosure is set to be completed soon. Moving on to defend their pricing, they stated that “our prices compare favourably to similar attractions and we have frozen last year’s prices to assist with affordability for visitors.”
Two new baby orangutans were born earlier this month – one is even named JOE.
Our second baby Bornean orangutan is another boy, who keepers have named ‘JOE’ in a touching tribute to his grandfather and great-grandfather.
Read more: https://t.co/wppbDmgQq2 pic.twitter.com/ol5guOYG5Y
— Dudley Zoo (@dudleyzoo) August 8, 2022
They also had little time for the suggestions of dirty water, insisting it is “changed regularly” and that the “painted shading on the bottom of the pool structure does create a dark effect in the water.”
Lastly, they assured the visitor that “the animals’ welfare is of utmost importance”, employing only “expert keepers” and ensuring that “regular inspections” take place; they also qualified that the giraffes, in particular, have “lick posts”, which they believe is what the customer was referring to.
These are just a handful of the complaints and subsequent responses features on the site, as elsewhere the zoo has been criticised for everything from its “appalling catering facilities” and organisation to using cages that are “too small” for their animals and being treated rudely by staff.
While there are still plenty of positive testimonials, with a four-star overall rating out of 2,662 reviews, many still said they were left feeling “put off zoos” entirely.
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