Edinburgh Zoo Director suspended

This whole affair is taking a turn for the worse, with 2 members of senior management suspended now, not reflecting well on the zoological society at all.
 
I think it is very much a case of wait and see. Interesting there seems to be a lot happening at director level. Sounds a lot like mud slinging behind the scenes has gone a bit over board! Could be an interesting AGM but lets hope the keepers and all the other staff can stay positive and keep driving things forward. Like I say, it sounds like internal politics and personal issues getting out of hand.
 
Greenie, this forum will not allow you to use this site for any personal vendettas, i am sorry to hear of your circumstances, but your attacks, could be bordering on libelous.
 
Baldur said:
And now Iain Valentine has been suspended. I attended a RZSS members' talk with him about the pandas just a few weeks ago.

BBC News - Edinburgh Zoo panda man Iain Valentine suspended

What happens next on Corstorphine Hill? Stay tuned!
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I'm sorry, but this is the future of a zoological society at stake here, not the next episode of an Australian soap opera, I have no idea what is going on with the management here but what concerns me is the future of the grass root staff and also equally important the future of the animals.It will be forty years ago that I made my first visit to this zoo and I would like to think that this could be celebrated with visiting the giant pandas this year, however what has happened recently and what I have observed on this forum lately not only makes me annoyed but also depressed, so much so that I do not think I want to go to Edinburgh zoo any more, to think that this is the second most visited attraction in the Scottish capital , they are looking for sponsors for the giant panda project? good luck to them , I hope they get them,
 
It's all sounding oddly similar to the mess at the Toronto Zoo over the past couple of years.
Whatever was going on behind the scenes (and why does it ALWAYS involve giant pandas?) it was basically a tug of war between administration and the Board. And of course, the Board will almost always win such a fight.
 
Presumably all of this will not affect the arrival of the Pandas, as that deal was signed off earlier in the Year- or will it?:(
 
My main question is: why is this being kept so silent? It has to come out once and for all.

This whole initiation thing is unacceptable. People keep on saying it has been happening for years, so it must be okay, but just because it has been happening doesn't mean it is right.

The rich get it handed -- they inherit it. I don't mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network. That's shared bounty of class.

All it takes to break the cycle is for one brave staff to say: "Enough. No more. From now on our traditions will be built on mutual regard and team spirit. We are all members of the same family." There needs to be networking, close co-operation with staff and the media, alertness to transgressions, perhaps an organisation to help those in need. This is only the start.
 
Clouded Leopard said:
My main question is: why is this being kept so silent? It has to come out once and for all.

This whole initiation thing is unacceptable. People keep on saying it has been happening for years, so it must be okay, but just because it has been happening doesn't mean it is right.

The rich get it handed -- they inherit it. I don't mean just inheritance of money. I mean what people take for granted among the middle and upper classes, which is nepotism, the old-boy network. That's shared bounty of class.

All it takes to break the cycle is for one brave staff to say: "Enough. No more. From now on our traditions will be built on mutual regard and team spirit. We are all members of the same family." There needs to be networking, close co-operation with staff and the media, alertness to transgressions, perhaps an organisation to help those in need. This is only the start.
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I'm sorry, but I have no idea at all what you are on about here. I feel as if I have missed a chapter out. What has nepotism, the 'old boy network' and all got to do with the events at edinburgh - whatsoever those events may be (as nobody seems wholly clear what is going on right now)? Further elucidation might be helpful.
 
There are clearly major problems at Edinburgh Zoo and although it may not be wise to speculate too much about the allegations regarding some individuals in senior management, it is obviously rather more in-depth and it appears to be involving several people. Although the allegations may not all be about the same thing of course. It is serious and very worrying for all who care about the zoo, but there simply is no way to hide it.

The issues surrounding the low keeper morale are separate, but linked, and caused by, the decisions made by those in management positions above. All in all Edinburgh Zoo is probably not a nice place to be right now.

Ironically the arrival of the Giant Pandas, which was set to bring fame and fortune to the zoo, may in fact bring the total opposite in reality if the current mess cannot be sorted out quickly.
 
sooty mangabey said:
I'm sorry, but I have no idea at all what you are on about here. I feel as if I have missed a chapter out. What has nepotism, the 'old boy network' and all got to do with the events at edinburgh - whatsoever those events may be (as nobody seems wholly clear what is going on right now)? Further elucidation might be helpful.
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Well, I approached a former staff to tell me what happened inside the zoo business. I find it's disturbing and sad. However, I agree with Nanook's comment.
 
This has become very serious. As Lady Bracknell might have said, to lose one senior manager is a misfortune, to lose three looks like carelessness.

Alan
 
Pertinax said:
Presumably all of this will not affect the arrival of the Pandas, as that deal was signed off earlier in the Year- or will it?:(
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Perhaps it will.

Edinburgh Zoo panda deal in danger of collapse, claims ousted boss - The Daily Record

He is just speculating, but his points are realistic.

On the other hand, for the Chinese this is essentially a business deal so they presumably would be most concerned that they'd get paid and the animals would be returned on time and in good condition.

But the article includes this:
Wilson, 47, was suspended amid accusations that he had siphoned money from the £4.5million Budongo monkey house to pay for a £50,000 extension to his home in Dunblane, Perthshire.

He will return to work later this month, having been cleared of any wrongdoing.
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McReavy, who was the zoo's director of development, and Valentine, director of animals, conservation and education, were put in charge during an investigation into the allegations. Monkey McReavy, 40, who had been in his post only 11 months, was sacked after his fellow directors found him to be in "contempt of the board".
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Not sure how this has happened - has the Daily Record website been attacked - but it looks as if Mr McReavy has been given an interesting new first name...
 
Zooplantman said:
But the article includes this:
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And note that that piece of news doesn't get a story to itself, unless I'm not seeing it (and I have looked). Someone being cleared is nothing like as 'newsworthy' as someone being accused, and many people will not realise he has been cleared. I do despair of the British media sometimes...
 
Edinburgh Zoo holds crisis meeting over suspensions

Up on the BBC News site this morning -

BBC News - Edinburgh Zoo holds crisis meeting over suspensions

The zoo's education centre can hold up to 250 people. There are 23,000 members at the zoo.
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May get a bit busy then. This actually feels like what happened some years ago at London Zoo during it's funding crisis. ZSL Fellows certainly gave the management board at the time a very rough ride. I suspect this will be the same at Edinburgh.


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