The Budakeszi Wildlife park, that celebrates its 40th anniversary, has been expanded with a farmyard – including a large goat petting zoo and a “rabbit town” – that meets 21^st century needs, and is suitable for the presentation of indigenous domestic animals. Visitors can now meet the popular domestic animals, as well as newly introduced species in a brand new, impressive exhibit. The expansion is a joint project of the Budakeszi Wildlife Park and the Pilis Park Forestry Ltd. The new farmyard opened its gates to the public on 24^th May. This year has special importance for both organizations as the Pilis Park Forestry Ltd. and the Budakeszi Wildlife park celebrate their 50^th and 40^th birthday respectively.  With the cooperation of Opal ltd, a new exhibit space of 3200 square meters has been created that houses 90 specimens of 6 species. Apart from the construction of the new exhibits, the project involved infrastructure improvements as well in order to create 21^st century standards for human – animal encounters.

From now on, visitors can not only observe but also interact with indigenous domestic animals, such as domestic goats in the petting zoo. The tradition of environmental education at Pilis Park Forestry Ltd dates back to to its foundation in 1969. Dr. László Madas, the first chief executive of the park forestry realized that urban dwellers, who’d been cut off from nature, need not only forest recreation but also guidance and opportunities for knowledge acquisition, for which the involvement of young generations is crucial. The common objective of the project by Pilis Park Forestry Ltd and the Budakeszi Wildlife Park is provide an opportunity to visitors (especially adults) to learn about the indigenous domestic animals of Hungary through first-hand experience and playful learning.  The present farmyard outside the wildlife park is going to transform into a maintenance area. The moving of the animals is taking place continuously: the new spaces are  occupied by larger animals first, while ‘fan favourites’ such as rabbits, hens and mangalica pigs await visitors in their usual place for some time.