Denmark's first and only rescue zoo for exotic animals in distress. We give rescued animals a permanent home and educate visitors about animal welfare and conservation.
We are dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and educating. Every animal that comes to us receives expert care and a chance at a better life.
As a rescue centre, we do not actively go out and select prized specimens of animals that we would like to have in the park. Instead, the animals come to us because they urgently need help, care, and a new, permanent home. We collaborate with transit centres throughout Europe that physically go out and rescue exotic animals in need. When an animal has been rescued, these transit centres contact us to ask whether we have space or the possibility to build an enclosure, so we can give the individual animal a good, permanent home.
When you visit Odsherred Zoo Rescue, you may notice that some of the animals look a little different from what you are used to seeing in zoos or other exhibitions. Some are missing fur in places, have scars, or move in a way that differs from the norm. This is not because they are ill, but because they have a past.
Our animals were not bred for display. They are rescued. Many come from testing centres, smuggling, illegal keeping in private homes, or places where they have been neglected or kept in the wrong conditions. They carry their stories with them — some physically, others psychologically. But here with us, they get a new chance. We don't look at how they look. We look at who they are and what they need. With time, calm, care, and love, most of them can flourish again, regain a good quality of life, and perhaps even display some of their natural behaviour, regardless of how they look.
We hope you will meet them with the same perspective. A perspective filled with curiosity, respect, and understanding. Because in our eyes, they are not worth less because they are different. Quite the opposite. They just need one more chance.
The Education Centre at Odsherred Zoo Rescue was created with one purpose: to give a voice to the animals that have never had a voice of their own. We house exotic animals that have been rescued from testing centres, illegal breeders, private homes, and cross-border smuggling. They are not here for entertainment, but because they had nowhere else to go or were facing euthanasia.
We have long wished for a place where we could communicate the work we carry out every day. A place where our guests can get an honest insight into what it really means to be a rescue centre for exotic animals, and what it takes to give them a new life.
With support from the Ministry of Culture and a unanimous Danish Parliament, it became possible to build the first of our education centres. It means a great deal to us. Because even though the will has always been there, this important task also requires resources and recognition.
Right next to the education centre live some of our strongest stories. Here you will find, for example, the caracal Kaja, who was smuggled into Denmark as a pet and eventually anonymously dropped off in our car park. Today she lives in an enclosure tailor-made for her needs with both indoor and outdoor areas, where she can finally express her natural behaviour. Also living here are the two sun bears, rescued from a major operation against an illegal breeder in Spain. They arrived after a long journey and have since spent their time settling in to safe and loving surroundings. We see these animals as living ambassadors — not just for their own species, but for all the animals still trapped in conditions brought about by neglect, illegal smuggling, or other circumstances.
Inside the education centre, we continue to work with awareness and understanding for both children and young people, as well as through lectures for groups. We have set up a teaching, lecture, and exhibition room where both children and adults can see what illegal animal trade looks like in reality. Items on display include ivory jewellery, reptile-skin bags, and traditional medicines that should never have been produced. On the walls hang pictures and posters from our own rescue cases, and on screens we show videos of animals we have helped over the years.
We tell these stories to provide insight and encourage reflection. If we can contribute even on a small scale to a shift in mentality, where we as a society take better care of our animals and nature, then we have done our job well.
The Foundation Odsherred Zoo Rescue is Denmark's first and only zoo and rescue centre for exotic animals in distress. For 30 years, we have taken in animals from research laboratories in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries, illegal trade, forced removals from private owners and smaller zoos, and fur farms. We collaborate internationally with other rescue centres, including AAP in the Netherlands. Today we care for approximately 600 animals across 90-100 species on our 14-acre site in beautiful Odsherred. We are ZIMS-registered, government-funded, and an approved zoological garden.
Odsherred Zoo Rescue collaborates internationally with other rescue centres. We have a broad network and work closely with organisations such as AAP in the Netherlands.
Odsherred Zoo Rescue has extensive expertise in the care and breeding of small, endangered South American marmosets and tamarins. Our results have been so successful that we have been approved and invited to participate in international breeding programmes. This work is time-consuming and requires significant resources, including quarantine and breeding facilities. It continues to earn great recognition from our international partners.
Odsherred Zoo Rescue has received support from a unanimous Danish Parliament three years in a row — an extraordinary recognition of our work rescuing and caring for exotic animals in distress.
DKK 750,000 from the Ministry of Culture for an education centre
DKK 500,000 for inventory and outdoor enclosures for caracals and red pandas
DKK 500,000 for education and outreach
“Odsherred Zoo Rescue does important work to help exotic animals in distress. That effort I am happy to support.”
Hedevig Quidings Fond grant (Dec 2025) — recognition of 30 years of dedication to exotic animals in distress
Support from a unanimous Danish Parliament three years running (2023, 2024, 2025)
ZIMS-registered and government-funded rescue zoo
Odsherred Zoo Rescue is not a transit facility — it is a permanent home for animals in need. Every animal receives the specialised care and attention they require.
When you support Odsherred Zoo Rescue, your money goes directly to the animals — food, enrichment, vitamins, renovation and construction of new enclosures.
We educate visitors about exotic animals, their habitats, and why we must protect them. Climate change, deforestation, and urban expansion threaten their natural homes.
Rescue Zoo — together we save lives! We collaborate internationally with other rescue centres and depend on our volunteers and donors.
Our dedicated team works alongside Denmark's primate specialists and Odsherred Animal Hospital to provide our animals with the very best care.
Director & Founder
Joan has dedicated over 30 years of her life to rescuing and caring for exotic animals in distress. As the founder of Odsherred Zoo Rescue, she has built Denmark's only rescue zoo for exotic animals.
IT & Marketing / Zookeeper
Nikolai handles IT, marketing, and daily animal care. He combines technical expertise with hands-on experience working with exotic animals.
We are located at Esterhøjvej 96 in Asnæs, in beautiful Odsherred in Northwest Zealand, Denmark. Come visit us and experience our rescue zoo up close.
