ZooMania Butterfly Farm Cameron Highlands
We think it’s immoral when people make use of animals to make easy money. And that’s what ZooMania Butterfly Farm Cameron Highlands does.
But if you are still considering a visit here, here’s what to expect!
Where To Get Tickets
It costs RM15 per adult to visit this place. The ticket counter is on the same level as the road while the “zoo” is below. You can only access them by going down some stairs as there are no lifts or ramps here.
When we reached the bottom of these stairs, we saw an aquarium section (the end of the zoo) and a steamboat restaurant on the right.
Butterfly Section
On the left, is the entrance into the butterfly section of the mini zoo. The landscaping is quite attractive, and the ceiling is high. We saw some Rajah Brooke butterflies, but we didn’t see many different species of butterflies – maybe 5 different varieties at most.
There are some guineafowl and peacocks free roaming this section as well.
We didn’t like that there was no staff around to stop anyone from mistreating the animals – we saw children trying to catch butterflies with their bare hands here.
Waterfowl & Reptiles
We left the butterfly section for the next section, and this had the reptile and some insect enclosures. As well as a pond with some different types of ducks and other waterfowl. These birds are probably the happiest of all the residents in this zoo.
And while it is great that they have sunlamps for the reptiles, it was strange to see them in tanks that did not mimic their natural habitats (e.g., wrong plants used).
Mammals
And this section was hands-down the most unethical part of the zoo. Many enclosures were too small. Some enclosures were unsuitable for their inhabitants too.
There were wallabies cooped up in a pen and while it’s got space for them to hop around, it’s probably not nearly big enough for so many. The sheep were also in a dirt-filled pen with limited space despite their number.
The meerkats and prairie dogs had the worst of it though. They had barely any space and their enclosures don’t have enough dirt or sand for them to live underground as in the wild.
There were also some chinchillas housed in a glass tank together. They honestly looked uncomfortable in there, and there was poop all over their enclosure. Animals like the rabbits or guinea pigs in comparison, were not as pitiful.
The two fennec foxes we saw shared an enclosure that was questionably furnished with cat items (e.g., cat bed and litter box).
Aquarium
This is where the exit of the zoo is. The tanks here contained fish we have seen in local pet shops. But there are a few types of fish here that are unusual.
The highlight of this section has got to be the river fish. It’s quite a big tank and you can see many large fish in there.
Conclusion
After our last visit, we strongly don’t recommend anyone to visit ZooMania Butterfly Farm Cameron Highlands. It disguises unethical practice, and we felt very uncomfortable witnessing many animals in distressing conditions.
But mini zoos are something of a horrible trend that’s becoming more common unfortunately. Many people feel that it adds value to attractions. So, it’s getting harder to avoid them if you want to visit Cameron Highlands!
Agro Market
One of the best things about visiting Agro Market is hanging around their impressive aviary. We really like that the aviary is high enough for the birds to stretch their wings! You can handfeed birds here too. What’s not so great is the cat section, since they don’t neuter their cats.
Green View Gardens
Green View Gardens is slightly better since they don’t try to cram too many different types of animals in one place. There are no exotic animals here. So, if you really want to bring your kids somewhere to see some budgies, ducks and goats, we think it’s still acceptable. Although they should really clean out their turtle enclosure!
