Assistance Animals at Wild Lights
Taronga aims to serve our community and will make every effort to safely accommodate individuals who are accompanied by an assistance animal on site. Taronga will assist guests who require assistance animals to access areas and facilities on site where guests are permitted. A number of restrictions and exceptions apply where it has been deemed a risk to guest, staff or wildlife health and safety.
In order to ensure the safety and welfare of our staff, guests and animals during WILD LIGHTS at Taronga, we have made some temporary adjustments to our site and operations to ensure that it is accessible and safe for all our patrons during the event. For Wild Lights 2023, each Wednesday night during the series has been designed to accommodate guests with assistance dogs.
These include:
- Wednesday 31 May 2023
- Wednesday 7 June 2023
- Wednesday 14 June 2023
For these nights, we have taken additional precautions with our wildlife to ensure they are not impacted by assistance dogs coming to the site. We look forward to continuing to learn more and grow in this space.
In order to best accommodate a request to enter WILD LIGHTS at Taronga with an assistance dog, we require:
Requirements
- A minimum of 72 hours’ notice to ensure that the relevant Wildlife and Guest Experience teams are notified of your visit with your assistance dog.
- To ensure the safety of you and your assistance dog as well as our wildlife population and to make certain that you can enjoy everything that WILD LIGHTS has to offer, we can offer your assistance dog to be accommodated in our office close to the main entry of the Zoo under the supervision of our staff members. In this case we would be happy to offer you support and have you chaperoned by one of our Guest Service Officers to accommodate your visit.
If this isn’t possible then we would require:
- Evidence that the assistance animal is trained to meet the standards of hygiene and behaviour appropriate for an animal in a public place.
- Evidence that the dog is up to date with its vaccinations;
- Guests who bring their assistance dogs into the Zoo are required to control their dog at all times. If your assistance dog misbehaves and is not able to be adequately controlled, we will require that your assistance dog be housed on site until you have completed your visit. If your assistance dog is housed and is not behaving appropriately you will be asked to collect your assistance dog and leave the site.
- remove any dog's faeces and properly dispose of them in the red bins around the Zoo;
- You and your assistance dog would will be provided with a Guest Experience officer or volunteer which will provide assistance while you’re a visiting the zoo
- It is a mandatory requirement for your dog to be leashed and wear the assistance dog vest that will help identify your assistance dog at all times;
Taronga is striving to be a diverse and inclusive site that is able to offer an amazing experience to all of our guests. We thank you for your support in our efforts to provide a safe and positive experience for you, our guests, our people and our wildlife. Assistance animals other than dogs will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Taronga may refuse access should the animal display signs of infection or demonstrate any behavioural issues that could pose risk to the health of staff and guests, or the health and welfare of wildlife in our care.
Should you like to submit a registration for you and your assistance dog to visit WILD LIGHTS 2023, please complete the below form.
Please submit a request form below and a Taronga staff member will be in touch regarding your visit to this event.