Long Island Game Farm

I used to work at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and I am currently a PhD student studying primates. I was compelled to look into the Long Island Game Farm when I heard that they have primate species… It was not surprising to learn that this farm is NOT accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The AZA is an organization that certifies the highest standards of animal welfare, health, and husbandry in zoos and aquariums. An AZA-​accreditation ensures visitors that the animal enclosures are large enough, adequate mental stimulation is provided, the diets have been properly balanced, and the staff are well-​trained. In other words, an AZA-​accreditation separates legitimate institutions from roadside stands.
The Long Island Game Farm is NOT accredited. They are not being held to any welfare standards for the animals they keep. I would strongly urge visitors to think twice before visiting, as these sorts of attractions are exactly where one finds stressed, obese animals kept in small cages without adequate mental stimulation.
Invest the time and resources required to visit a real zoo: both the Bronx and Central Park Zoos have earned an AZA stamp of approval!

The game farm is cute I’ve taken my daughter here twice. It is on the smaller side however I was used to the catskill game farm which unfortunately closed down ughhh. My daughter, husband and I are totally obsessed with nursery where you can bottle feed the baby goats I can spend the whole day just doing that. I love that they have a section where you can walk freely with deer it’s awesome and scary at the same time. The park is clean no trash on the ground just some left over pellet food from the animals but no big deal. They have a very small concession stand for food, drinks and snacks and if your not hungry I advise you to go elsewhere. Overall it’s a cute place if you live around that area, but if your traveling far to go to the Long Island game farm it’s not really worth it in my opinion.

I wish zero stars was an option.
The Long Island Game Farm was by far, the worst, and most depressing zoo that I have ever been to.
The first animal you see, a hornbill, looked sick and seemed to be struggling to eat because the perch he was on was too short. In my opinion, basically all of the animals enclosures were filthy and way too small. It really looked like the people who run the game farm just don’t care.
The spider monkeys and gibbons had almost nothing in their cages (and they were just «cages», not «enclosures») to provide stimulation. To trap such intelligent creatures behind bars and not offer them anything is horrible. I was with a young child who is not yet three years old, and he looked at one of the spider monkeys who was shaking the bars of his cage and said «Oh, that monkey wants to get out.» If a child his age can see that, you know there’s something wrong.
I could go on listing the animals that looked ill and poorly cared for, but I won’t. But you can be sure that the majority were.
The last thing I will say is though it seems fun at first to be able to purchase a cup of pellets that you can feed to almost every animal, if you really think about it, how is that healthy for the animals? First, since when does a kangaroo have the same diet as a donkey, a duck, and a monkey? And there is also no control over how much of this food the animals are being given.
Overall, my experience at the Long Island Game Farm was upsetting. You don’t have to be a expert to know that this animals were not being treated well. It’s obvious that this place is either not making enough money or they are not using the money they earn to care for the animals properly. Either way the animals would be much better off in a place that actually cares about them.

This place is what you see in movies as the stereotypical roadside ripoff attraction. I’d stay away. Far away.

Great place to spend the day with your children