Zoo Zajac (Zoo Zajac GmbH) was a pet store in Duisburg-Neumühl, Germany. According to the Guinness Book of World Record, has been the largest pet store in the world with a vending space of since 2005 .Largest pet store, guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved July 6, 2022Heike Jahberg: Zoo Zajac, der Supermarkt der Tiere, in: Der Tagesspiegel, August 4, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2022 (German) On March 14, 2025, the business closed due to insolvency.
The store with approximately vending space in 2022 includes more than 1,000 aquariums, 70 pond tanks, 500 terrariums, 40 aviaries, a cat enclosure, and 150 small mammal enclosures. It also claims to have the largest enclosure for dogs in Europe.
Norbert Zajac and his wife Jutta bought a pet store in Duisburg-Meiderich in 1975. He finally bought a former factory building in Duisburg-Neumühl to establish a new pet store, because he could not enlarge his former store.
According to Zajac, the shop had 200 employees, including veterinarians and biologists in 2010. It sold animals and equipment, had a revenue of 15 million Euros and 1 million buyers per year in 2009.Größtes Zoogeschäft der Welt in Duisburg , bild.de, April 25, 2010. Retrieved June 27, 2022 (German)
Norbert Zajac met criticism by animal protectionists. For example, he sold dog puppies, which is legal but not allowed by the professional association of pet shop owners (of which he was not a member).Heike Jahberg: Zoo Zajac, der Supermarkt der Tiere, in: Der Tagesspiegel, August 4, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2022 (German) Norbert Zajac died at the age of 67 years on December 13, 2022.Unternehmer: Größter Zoohändler der Welt, Youtuber und Reizfigur: Norbert Zajac mit 67 Jahren gestorben, stern.de, December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022 (German): ″ein 13.000 Quadratmeter großes Geschäft im Duisburger Norden, das als größtes Zoofachgeschäft im Guinness-Buch der Rekorde steht.″
References
External links