South Lakes Wild Animal Park David Gill steps down

OH MY LORDY LORD!!!! ABOUT BLOODY TIME! :):):):) I can't tell you how happy I am to wake up to this news. At last, one of the biggest embarrassments to the British zoo community has thrown in the towel. I hope the replacement will ring in significant changes.

Shall we have a party?
 
What is this likely to mean for the future of South Lakes though. Was he personally bank rolling the place,or was it pretty self sufficient?

( This will probably be ignored in the wave of euphoria by people with a grudge against the guy,some of them probably justified. All i'm worried about is the welfare and future of the animals.:( )
 
Big Rob said:
What is this likely to mean for the future of South Lakes though. Was he personally bank rolling the place,or was it pretty self sufficient?

( This will probably be ignored in the wave of euphoria by people with a grudge against the guy,some of them probably justified. All i'm worried about is the welfare and future of the animals.:( )
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Yes like yourself Rob my main concern is for the animals, Mr Gill has resigned as a director but he still owns the zoo, I would think judging by the quite high visitor numbers the place makes a good profit, it will be interesting to see what happens and who will take over directing the park.
 
Big Rob said:
What is this likely to mean for the future of South Lakes though. Was he personally bank rolling the place,or was it pretty self sufficient?

( This will probably be ignored in the wave of euphoria by people with a grudge against the guy,some of them probably justified. All i'm worried about is the welfare and future of the animals.:( )
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Quite.
I have resigned from my employment with zoo and new directors will be in place within the week.
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is as clear as mud.

As far as I can see, the company that owns the zoo (and the land on which it stands?) is Gill's in its entirety. So for him to say that he's walking away from the place is impossible, unless he's sold up.

Either way, there are some serious questions, both within the UK and Europe, about how so many rare animals ended up in the hands of such an (ahem) unusual individual.
 
I think it is rather sad that some one who likes to be around animals so much couldn't accept that the way he was running things wasn't by the rules so he quits. may be he knows something about the licensing of the zoo?

Mind you I once worked in a park which had a ladies bowls team that was run by only 3 members,mainly the secretary,one day decided she wanted to step down, a new one was appointed, but the old guard still ran the team, including the retired secretary. We shall see what changes.
As long as the welfare of the animals is paramount that is all that matters to me.
 
dean said:
a new one was appointed, but the old guard still ran the team, including the retired secretary. We shall see what changes.
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That is very common in all walks of life. And I know at least one wildlife park where exactly that happened, under a new directorship.
 
Very recently posted on Mr. Gill's personal facebook page, "I have just been asked what is the worst thing about running a zoo? Well it used to be simple things like litter and keeping toilets clean. In recent years it is the social media armchair experts who love to criticise, find fault and think they know better. If all the uninformed critics moved off their backsides and put as much effort into positive action then the world would be a far better place".. All I will say to this is perhaps Mr. Gill could have been a little more democratic when dealing with questions relating to the animals at South Lakes via the social media, instead of simply deleting the question and banning the person concerned, and he is not the only zoo to do this I hasten to add in fairness.
 
what is the name of his personal facebook page?

it is not the first time this fool has tried his hand at leaving things, from resigning from the head of the Conservatives in the area, to trying to force the council into wrongful decisions. ‘WE’RE OUT OF IT,’ SAYS ZOO BOSS IN COUNCIL RIFT
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
ZOO boss David Gill says he will sell the attraction after his expansion plans were delayed by the council’s request for more information.
 
Thanks.

If he loves Wyoming that much then he should quit the UK and leave for good. I also note that he has removed his statement of resignation. May be he has been reading the comments from zoochat and other forums and has had second thoughts.

David S Gill | LinkedIn

Experience
Co Owner
AgentAuto LLC
May 2012 – Present (2 years 7 months)Billings, Montana Area
Car Sales web site in development and expansion phase 2012.
Owner
The Historic UXU Ranch
August 2011 – Present (3 years 4 months)Wapiti, Wyoming, USA
Owner
South Lakes Wild Animal Park
May 1994 – Present (20 years 7 months)Dalton in Furness, Cumbria UK
Nutritionist/Sales
Colborn Dawes Ltd
February 1989 – April 1994 (5 years 3 months)
Sales Advisor
Dugdale Nutrition
June 1983 – 1988 (5 years)Clitheroe

I see from Companies House that South Lakes / Dave Gill were placed twice within the London Gazette to be struck off. So, may be he has previous wind of getting rid and leaving.
02 Oct 2013 Compulsory strike off cancelled
01 Oct 2013 First Dissolution (Gazette)
 
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Mr. Gill appears to have removed his statement from his facebook page regarding his resignation as a director of South Lakes, I cannot see it.
 
I don't work within the zoo community and have only volunteered at a couple of zoo's so do not feel qualified to claim I have enough knowledge on the rights and wrongs of Mr Gill and how he runs his park however I get the feeling that most people on this forum will be pleased by the news.

Maybe the feeling towards him is justified and the people posting on here are commenting from a more qualified position than I am and most work within the zoo community?

It seems there are both positive and negative points to the way the park is run as with many collections in the UK but it seems this park gets hammered more than others.

Again im no expert but just the impression I gather from most of the threads.
 
I heard on the local radio today that this week the zoo will be run by 'directors' and that news will be reported as to when it happens. As Gill still owns the zoo I can't see all that much changing. He has a property on zoo land and young children nearby - I can't really see him upping and moving completely...
 
There are many reasons why somebody might wish to give up a directorship. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are giving up control of the business by other means.

I suspect there will be further developments .........
 
The following is from South Lakes FB page. Dave Gill really does love his over inflated ego. Not decrying from using methods to help locals and others seeing animals, what is insulting is the manner that "he" was the "only" person to do it? Other parks and collections have been doing this far longer and without the grandiose delusions of ego tripping.

"Back in 2009 the owner of the zoo made a surprising suggestion to the management team. He felt that as our mission was to educate and influence as many people as possible and he didn't feel we were fulfilling our moral obligation to the community.
He wanted everyone to have access to the animals and conservation education and as a father if 4 young children he appreciated the difficulties some families would have in visiting the zoo at full price.
So he came up with the totally radical idea of free entry in winter.
This was a huge success and it acheived all the goals set for inclusivity . However the high volume of visitors meant more staff and increased costs to the zoo. We then had to consider this and introduced a minimum donation to cover the increased staff and toilet costs etc."
 
I think that the most interesting thing that will come with David Gill stepping down is the perception of the park. Maybe with David Gill stepping down the park will get viewed with a more unbiased eye since the emotions that Mr Gill brings out in people will not be looming over the park.
 
JBZvolunteer said:
I think that the most interesting thing that will come with David Gill stepping down is the perception of the park. Maybe with David Gill stepping down the park will get viewed with a more unbiased eye since the emotions that Mr Gill brings out in people will not be looming over the park.
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This is not what it seems...

As far as many can see, the company that owns the zoo as well as the land, still belongs to Dave Gill. So for Gill to say that he is walking away from the zoo is false and misleading. Mr Gill has resigned as "a" director, but he still owns the zoo, so unless he's sold the zoo and its land, which could still be on the books, then the real situation is as clear as mud. He owns a ranch in the States; Wapiti, Wyoming. He is seen frequently with his cowboy hat on, he rides his white rhino ad goes about pretending to be John Wayne. So, how will his stepping down give a greater and better perception of the park, if he is still owning the park and land as well as holding various other land rights close by?

It is not the first time this fool has tried his hand at leaving things, from resigning from the head of the Conservatives in the area, to trying to force the council into wrongful decisions. ‘WE’RE OUT OF IT,’ SAYS ZOO BOSS IN COUNCIL RIFT
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
ZOO boss David Gill says he will sell the attraction after his expansion plans were delayed by the council’s request for more information.
 
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