A family history in the heart of an exceptional natural site
Founded in 1970
by André Pons, an agricultural engineer with a passion for animals, the La Barben Animal Park covers 33 hectares of unspoilt nature in the heart of Provence.
In its early days, the park presented a large number of very diverse European species. By evolving over the years at the same time as the role of the parks itself has been transformed, the management of the Barben Animal Park has chosen to prioritise the animal welfare and physiological needs of its residents by welcoming fewer species and doing everything possible to preserve their living conditions.
Today,
Ce sont les petits-enfants qui ont pris la relève et continuent de gérer le parc, poursuivant ainsi l’aventure familiale et en faisant évoluer en permanence cette entreprise privée de 50 collaborateurs reconnue dans la profession.
Located in a Natura 2000 area, the site has typical Mediterranean vegetation. Beautiful natural cliffs enrich the landscape, a river flows on the outskirts. Aware of the beauty and richness of this biotope, the entire park team is actively working to conserve, develop and make known this natural setting.
The La Barben Animal Park is the largest animal park in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, welcoming more than 300,000 visitors per year.
Our founding values
- Taking concrete action to promote animal conservation and welfare.
- To pass on to future generations the desire to understand and protect nature.
- Improving and expanding animal spaces that promote animal welfare
- Preserve natural and recreational spaces for visitors.
- To raise public awareness of the beauty and fragility of living things.
All the members of the team share the conviction that a modern animal park is above all a place of reconnection with nature, where each visitor becomes an actor in the preservation of living things.
A preserved site
Wishing to match the message conveyed to our visitors with our actions, our actions are part of the respect for the site and its biodiversity.
We are therefore happy to be one of the very first animal parks to be classified as an “LPO© Refuge”. This is a recognition of the actions carried out for a long time in favour of local biodiversity: natural management of green spaces, installation of nesting boxes and insect hotels and beehives, planting of local and nourishing species, etc.
A daily commitment
Wishing to align the message conveyed to our visitors with our actions, we are changing our internal practices in order to limit our impact on the planet.
- Waste reduction
- Electric vehicle travel
- Use of Eco-cert labelled products
- Rational water management and phytopurification
- Photovoltaic panels…
