It is a conscious choice of the municipality not to let the deer, for years the face of the meadows, return. The municipality explicitly opts for an animal -friendly interpretation that fits the quality mark for animal -friendly children’s farms. According to the municipality, deer keeps to small animal meadows.
The children’s farm and animal meadows closed earlier because the municipality stopped the reimbursement. They were managed by Stichting De Gooise Ark, which, according to the municipality, has not been met for the subsidy conditions for some time. For years the municipality jumped, but at the end of 2024 it was decided to end that support.
Children’s farm ‘t Mouwtje in Bussum, which previously closed its doors, will open again as a children’s farm. The former deer camps in Bussum and Naarden also get animals, but then other species. Moreover, there is room for extra facilities, such as a playground or a small park.
Protest among residents
The closure of the farm and animal meadows led to a lot of protest at the end of last year. Residents did everything to prevent the closure. A petition against the closure was thousands of times signed. Now the municipality seems to be responding to that call.
Alderman Mark Marshall is happy with the chosen direction: “With these choices we offer a sustainable and animal -friendly interpretation for both the children’s farm and the animal meadows. Because we also focus on animal welfare for animal meadows, we choose to have animals other than deer return.”
In the coming months, the municipality will investigate which parties are interested in management. After the summer it becomes clear how exactly the new interpretation takes shape and how quickly the children’s farm and animal meadows actually reopen.