Is Jungle Cat World Ethical?
Jungle Cat World is a zoo focusing on large cats (lions, cats, leopards and pumas) about an hour east of Toronto. One of the most commonly asked questions about this place is “is Jungle Cat World ethical?”
I went to Jungle Cat World in 2023 with my daughter’s Girl Guide group. It was my first time there. From the extensive online reading I did about the zoo in advance, along with observations during my visit, I saw a number of pros and cons about the zoo in terms of how ethical it is.
We’re going to go over the facts, and I will add what I observed personally as a visitor (especially, as someone who isn’t a huge fan of zoos) so that you can weigh the pros and cons and make the best decision about whether to visit Jungle Cat World or not.
Intro to Jungle Cat World
Here’s some background information on Jungle Cat World
Jungle Cat World Wildlife Park is located in Orono, just east of Oshawa. It was opened in 1983 by German immigrants, Peter and Christa Klose. They are in their 80s now, and still visit the park often. (This is what I was told by one of the zoo keepers.) Being only a 90 min drive from Toronto, Jungle Cat World is an option for a family outing from the city.
At the zoo currently, as of 2023, there are lions, tigers, snow leapords, timber wolves, owls, monkeys, lizards, exotic birds, snakes, and at least one baby kangaroo that we got to meet during a presentation. There are also some South American cockroaches that we got to hold during the presentation.
There are also a few animals just roaming free; a donkey, a few alpacas, peacocks, and of course, some Canadian geese (not owned by the zoo, presumably.)
Jungle Cat World Controversy
Jungle Cat World has been subject to some controversy and accusations in the past. Here are some of the concerns that have been expressed
It was reported that the tigers are forced to stay awake during the day, even though they’re nocturnal, in order to be photo props for people. This also involves separating tiger cubs from their mothers, so that people can pose with them for photos.
There was also an incident in 2011 where one of the timber wolves escaped from the zoo, and was later shot dead by a farmer.
Observations from a visit to Jungle Cat World
Here’s what I gathered from our visit to Jungle Cat World.
I visited Jungle Cat World in 2023 with my daughter’s Girl Guide group. From my personal observations as a non-expert, the animals seem well looked after. I noticed some positive points and some negative ones.
How Animals Were Treated
The two zookeepers we met both seemed to genuinely care about the animals. They told us all about the animals personalities, and the animals we saw that interacted with them seemed to have a bond with them and be comfortable with them. So, based on what I observed during our visit, I truly believe that the animals are receiving decent care from their keepers at the zoo.
The Size of Enclosures
On the other hand though, some of the enclosures at Jungle Cat World seem very small. It was hard to see some of the animals in such small enclosures. I am not an animal expert or knowledgable about how much space these animals need. I do feel though that animals like tigers, lions, monkeys and birds should have more space to move around in.
The pet cemetery was larger than any of the zoo animal enclosures, which I found a bit disappointing. It made me feel like Jungle Cat World should examine its priorities. While the pet cemetery has a special place in the hearts of many, the wild animals should be entitled to more space.
To sum it up, here are the pros and cons that I as an observer found with Jungle Cat World.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -The animals appear well fed and groomed -Jungle Cat World is involved in breeding animals that are critically endangered -They drive electric vehicles at Jungle Cat World even though they’re old fashioned so that the animals aren’t exposed to fuel from gasoline cars | -The enclosures appear very small -They do overnight dog boarding on site, which meant that there was a lot of uncontrolled barking that went on. It seemed like it might be disruptive to some of the animals, especially the monkeys and exotic birds whose enclosures are right beside the dog boarding area. |
Conclusion: Is Jungle Cat World Ethical?
Whether or not Jungle Cat world is ethical will depend on your personal views towards zoos and animals being held in captivity. There isn’t a right or a wrong, but I fully believe that we should strive to do better for animals.
I personally felt, from my observations and interaction with the zoo keepers that the animals at Jungle Cat World are well cared for by the zookeepers that look after them daily. They’re well fed, and their enclosures seemed well maintained. The zookeepers were able to tell us about the animals’ individual personalities and their stories, which seemed like a positive point to me – this means they take the time to get to know them.
However, I would like to see Jungle Cat World invest in larger enclosures for some of the animals. The only part of it that seemed unethical to me, as an observer, was the size of some of the enclosures.
Options for Staying Overnight at Jungle Cat World
- There’s a zoo camp for kids
- Large groups like school field trips and girl and boy scout groups can sleep in the same cabins as they use for the zoo camp
- There’s a bed and breakfast for families to stay over in
Other Activities on Site at Jungle Cat World
Besides going through the zoo and looking at all the animals, there are a few other activities on-site at Jungle Cat World
- A playground and splash pad for kids (closed at the time we were there due to weather)
- ‘Behind the Scenes’ activity that allows you to be involved with feeding some of the large animals and interact more closely with some of the other animals.
- A restaurant where you can have meals (also closed while we were there, as it was low season.) The restaurant is open throughout the summer, and serves fast food such as hamburgers veggie burgers and hotdogs
- Shopping in the Guest Shop
Final Thoughts: Is Jungle Cat World Ethical?
I would personally like to see larger enclosures at Jungle Cat World, especially for the lions, the timber wolves and some of the birds and monkeys. It seemed to be that these animals didn’t have anywhere near the amount of space that they’d have in the wild.
I’m not the biggest fan of zoos in general, especially not large exotic animals. I do recognize that there are some positive points to zoos; the rehabilitation and reproduction of animals that are struggling to survive in the wild because of human interference (such as destruction of habitat, hunting, etc.)
Is Jungle Cat World Ethical? Overall, yes, but there are some improvements that should be made.