Sick animals in Gonsenheim Wildlife Park
For the protection and welfare of the animals, Gonsenheim Wildlife Park urgently appeals to all visitors to adhere to the feeding rules and only feed from the vending machines.
Gonsenheim Wildlife Park is currently facing a growing and serious problem: some animals have become seriously ill because visitors have been feeding them unsuitable food. The animals affected include goats, mouflon, red deer, and fallow deer. Despite the warning signs, prohibited feeding continues to occur—with serious consequences for the animals’ health.
All animals in the wildlife park have individually tailored feeding plans. These are based on the animals’ health, age, and physical condition. Additional or unsuitable food can significantly disrupt this balance and, in the worst case, lead to serious illness. In particular, feeding the animals unsuitable food often has fatal health consequences.
Feeding rules
To protect the animals, only the food from the provided feeders is permitted. These feeders are specifically designed to provide the animals with the right amount of food.
If the dispensers are empty, the daily ration has already been distributed. Visitors are expressly asked not to supplement the animals’ diet with other plants or food.
In addition, we would like to point out that some of the plants in and around the wildlife park are poisonous and must under no circumstances be fed to the animals.
Even if this leads to disappointed children, we ask that you explain to them that only healthy animals can continue to be fed and viewed in the wildlife park, and that overfeeding makes them sick.
Do not feed vegetables or grass
Park manager Jaimie Lau repeatedly hears people say, “It’s just a few carrots” or “They eat grass in the enclosure anyway.” What these visitors fail to realize is the impact that extra feeding has when so many people think this way. Especially on weekends, there are hundreds of visitors on site, and the amount of extra food they bring can sometimes be a major problem. Regarding the feeding of grass, the park manager states emphatically: “The grass in the vicinity of the wildlife park is heavily contaminated with dog feces and urine. Even if the dog droppings are picked up, residues remain in the grass, which leads to serious illnesses in the animals. Furthermore, individual poisonous plants grow among the grass that are not recognized by visitors.”
With the arrival of spring, visits to Gonsenheim Wildlife Park are on the rise, and of course, so is the enjoyment of feeding the animals with food from the vending machines. “We are delighted to welcome so many visitors and want to ensure everyone has a pleasant visit. At the same time, the well-being of our animals is our top priority. That is why we must consistently call out inappropriate behavior,” emphasizes department head Norbert Rudloff.
Food donations
Anyone wishing to support the wildlife park can drop off food donations—such as vegetables and fruit that are not moldy or spoiled—at the mini-zoo. The wildlife park team will feed it to the animals as part of their daily feeding schedule. However, we can no longer accept bread, as the wildlife park no longer keeps wild boars to which the bread could be fed. Feeding bread and other baked goods is harmful to all other animals.
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