What’s On in Basingstoke at Festival Place

Amazing Animals will be with us to raise awareness of the endangered Humboldt Penguin.

The Humboldt penguin is similar in size to the Magellanic penguins and can be found along the Pacific coast of South America from the Isla Foca off the coast of Peru down to Algarrobo in Chile.  They are an average length of 70cm and weigh 4kg.  There are approximately 12,000 breeding pairs in the world.  This species is undergoing a serious decline and will be extinct within a few decades if nothing is done to prevent further loss of their habitat.  Decline is due to severe weather conditions, availability of fish – over fishing of the Peruvian Anchovy has led to the Humboldt population declining, hunting of the adult birds and egg stealing have also contributed to the lowering of penguin numbers.

It is of paramount importance that any third party bringing animals to the centre adhere to strict guidelines regarding animal welfare and the safety of our guests. Amazing Animals, the company bringing the animals to Festival Place keep and care for the animals to the very highest animal welfare standards possible by handlers who are highly experienced in their profession.

The Penguins at Festival Place is designed to be a fun, safe and educational event for children and adults. The animals are trained and acclimatized to the environments where they are displayed and they are all captive-bred from captive-bred parents – meaning they or their parents weren’t captured in the wild.

Amazing Animals is one of the oldest animal training and supply firms operating in the UK. They are based at Heythrop Zoological Gardens Ltd. and the RSPCA and UK Customs and Excise regularly choose the Amazing Animals base to re-home rescued animals. The company has also been actively involved at government level with the Animal Welfare Bill 2007 and they employ three different veterinary establishments to ensure the zoo continues to meet the best standards possible for its animals. These are the International Zoo Veterinary Group, who regularly inspects the zoo, Chipping Norton Veterinary Hospital, who are involved with the zoo’s local day-to-day needs, and Stephen Ware, former president of the Royal Veterinary College, who does their quarantine and film work. They are also annually inspected by West Oxfordshire District Council, their local authority.