Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Durrell management

In the early days Durrell had a strong management team too, Mallinson, Hartley, Hicks etc. Some of the long established keepers featured prominently too. It must be very galling for Lee Durrell to see all this happening now- hopefully it will be resolved. I cannot see that it is all just due to the aquisition of some 'dubious' species though, there must be more.
 
GaryA said:
I used Marwell as an example given that its founder was a contemporary of Durrell and indeed, Aspinall (all proper "zoo men") and their replacements until recently have led to a period of stagnation (if not outright freefall). Aspinall unusually remained with the family but it seems that many/most wish it had not, and still seems to be hurtling downward with some badly conceived plans.
Lee is now an older lady and after guarding her late husband's legacy for many years, it is understandable that she felt the need to step away. Similarly with his contemporaries in the staff, they have either died or retired, and no strong guiding hand remains.
Perhaps zoos, like some countries, seem to flourish under a dictatorship!
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Question: does the creation, amendment, and side effects of wildlife trade laws play a factor on these declines as well?
 
dillotest0 said:
Can Marwell be directly compared, my question is?
The way I understand it Marwell's decline per se was caused by the struggle of Cretney's office to maintain exhibits that had been recently opened - something admittedly spaced out some by the addition of new exhibits - though these often met the same fate. And it was Cretney's office at the very end who started to turn things around after the pandemic. And Read seems to have intent to move the torch forward so to speak.
Could such a recession be seen at Durrell too? From what I understand it was mainly the bigger-name species that Durrell had gone out of
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Is Cretney the same one on our board at Durrell?
 
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Yes, J Cretney is one and the same. I am no fan of his.

Lee Durrell is, if "honorary" to all intents and purposes a presence in name only.

Time has moved on, and the "name" staff mentioned in Gerald Durrell's days are few and far between.

Obviously the new generation who have come through have their own ideas, as is only right, but when the results see a noticeable decline, they should be moved on quickly by the board, not given even more rope to hang themselves with, as seems to have happened in a few instances.

I don't generally agree with keeper's personal disputes being aired in public as there are always two sides to a story. The animal people may not be right on a decision taken from a non animal person. There is always a balance to maintain.

Zoos are as much about people as they are animals.
 
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GaryA said:
Yes, J Cretney is one and the same. I am no fan of his.

Lee Durrell is, if "honorary" to all intents and purposes a presence in name only.

Time has moved on, and the "name" staff mentioned in Gerald Durrell's days are few and far between.

Obviously the new generation who have come through have their own ideas, as is only right, but when the results see a noticeable decline, they should be moved on quickly by the board, not given even more rope to hang themselves with, as seems to have happened in a few instances.

I don't generally agree with keeper's personal disputes being aired in public as there are always two sides to a story. The animal people may not be right on a decision taken from a non animal person. There is always a balance to maintain.

Zoos are as much about people as they are animals.
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can I ask why you aren’t a fan of cretney?
 
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OK don't want to derail the thread as this is a Marwell issue, but I feel the then board treated John Knowles extremely poorly. I also feel there was a long period of malaise and shrinkage of the collection and some questionable decisions regarding animal exhibits. This is all IMO of course.

It does seem to have been echoed by recent developments at Jersey, unfortunately.
 
Everything's kicking off now:
Durrell urges members to vote against rebels as EGM confirmed
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has confirmed the date for an Extraordinary General Meeting in which members will vote on whether the charity's board should resign and an independent investigation be carried out into the management of the zoo.

The EGM will take place on Thursday 2 May at 18:00 at the Freedom Centre in St Helier, following a formal request from 62 members, including some former staff, from a group called 'We Love the Zoo'.

The resolution proposed for debate is:

“Because the members have lost confidence in the ability of the Board of Trustees of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust to protect and maintain the legacy of Gerald Durrell, the Board of Trustees should resign and an independent investigation should be carried out into all aspects of the current and recent management's running of the zoo.”

The charity said: "Durrell recommends that members vote AGAINST the resolution."

We Love the Zoo officially called for the EGM last month, following months of conflict between the charity and the group of members looking to oust its trustees.

Last week, the group told Express that they were calling the meeting because they felt that their concerns about animal welfare at the Zoo – which Durrell has always maintained has never been at risk – and its management have not been addressed.

The group first approached Durrell following the departure of Head of Mammals Dominic Wormell, who fired several parting shots on social media.

In February, UK mediators were parachuted into the island to hold a session with the group, which calls itself ‘We Love the Zoo’, and members of the board of trustees to help resolve their ongoing concerns around governance of the Trust, staff welfare, animal welfare and species choices at Jersey Zoo.

However, the mediation process fell apart when solutions could not be agreed.

The group's demands included an independent review of the charity's operations and finance, and the departures of its Chair of the Board of Trustees and Operations Director, Express understands. The latter left the charity "by mutual consent" at the end of last month.

Confirming the date of the EGM this morning, the Zoo said that only members of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust are able to attend and vote at the EGM.

The meeting is not open to the general public and members must register for a place in advance.

All members have been contacted either by email or letter and have the choice of appointing a proxy to vote on their behalf at the EGM or by attending in person.
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Unfortunately We Love The Zoo's press release does not seem to be publicly available, but Durrell's response to it, quoting large sections of it, is: Durrell response | Durrell
 
After reading the responses, I feel that both sides are digging in for a fight that one or both could end up losing, reputations are definitely on the line here. I would like to be at the EGM though. The staff have still got to work on regardless.
 
Big piece of investigative reporting just came out of ITV:
https://www.itv.com/news/channel/20...allege-animal-welfare-concerns-at-popular-zoo
Former senior staff at Jersey Zoo allege that animals are not being cared for properly and workers are being bullied as part of a "toxic workplace" culture.

Pictures obtained exclusively by ITV News show a female aardvark with severe scratches down her back and sides after staff allegedly introduced her to a male too soon and did not monitor them correctly.

A sloth is seen lying on a hard floor at the bottom of a metal set of stairs with other photos showing it in the corner of stairs, on its back, and hugging a concrete pillar.

It is also claimed goats have foot rot due to the poor conditions they were kept in.

Following a year of investigation by ITV News reporter Katya Fowler and producer Sophie Dulson, three prominent former zoo employees have chosen to speak out ahead of a no-confidence vote in the Board of Trustees.
Quentin Bloxham dedicated more than 40 years to Jersey Zoo, working closely with founder Gerald Durrell; from the charity's creation to it becoming a world-leading conservation group for endangered animals.

He recently visited and was shocked by what he saw, explaining: "I found the aardvarks and sloths in particular were kept in levels of accommodation well short of what I would have expected to see at Durrell."

Quentin says aardvarks which are nocturnal, large creatures were kept in "too small" an enclosure and under "glaring white lights" in the daytime.

Dominic Wormell was Head of Mammals at Jersey Zoo for 34 years but resigned in August 2023 over concerns about how it was being run.

He tells ITV News: "I felt I couldn't fulfil my dreams and passions anymore so I had to leave.

"We were encouraged to be champions, 'if you come and you're lucky enough to work at Jersey Zoo you're going to be a champion for a species' ... that feeling and that passion, certainly over the last few years, dissipated a bit and we've got a bit 'zoo-ey' for want of a better word."

Commenting on how the animals are now looked after at the zoo, Dominic adds: "One would have to ask yourself, if you went to the zoo today as a visitor, is the area where the sloth is kept in the stairwell ... is that appropriate for a sensitive exotic mammal?

"I think people can make their own minds up on that."
One former employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, alleges staff were bullied and did not feel they could voice their concerns.

She says it was a "toxic place to work" because of the behaviour of the former Chief Executive Officer Dr Leslie Dickie, and Head of Operations Graeme Dick.

Both have since resigned from their roles.

The former employee recounts: "There was a thing about 'oh don't do that, you'll go on Leslie's hit list', that was something that was said quite often.

"The bullying was so bad that I once heard that the director that's just left [Graeme Dick] say, 'well if he doesn't do what I say, I'll kill some of his precious tamarins' which is just unbelievable.

"Now I'm sure he would never have done it, but even to be thinking like that and say that kind of thing out loud in itself is just toxic, it's evil and it's not the kind of place I want to work in."
ITV News approached Jersey Zoo and asked them to send these allegations to both Dr Leslie Dickie and Graeme Dick so all three parties have the chance to respond.

The zoo declined ITV News's request for an immediate interview but has offered one next week with Interim Chief Executive Officer Becky Brewer.

In a statement, Chair Matthew Hatchwell says: "Regarding allegations about staff behaviour, we cannot comment on these matters publicly and have a duty of care to all employees.

"We have been communicating with a number of individuals over the last 12 months regarding concerns they have raised. We have addressed each concern directly with them, including an in-person mediation.

"We take allegations about poor animal welfare incredibly seriously. In September 2023, we asked Jersey's Chief Veterinary Officer to undertake an inspection into the matters raised around the sloths and aardvarks, and she found no concerns.

"We have done everything we can to address concerns and will continue to improve how we communicate with our staff and provide opportunities for feedback.

"The EGM [Extraordinary General Meeting where a no-confidence vote in the Board of Trustees will be held] next month is one of these opportunities. We hope that this will fully address matters and allow us to continue to focus on our important mission of saving species and building on the legacy of Gerald Durrell."
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Horrific images. My heart goes out to those poor animals. I enjoyed an encounter with the aardvarks at Longleat two years ago and I believe the female is one I met back then.

Absolutely disgusting.
 
jersey_insider said:
Big piece of investigative reporting just came out of ITV:
https://www.itv.com/news/channel/20...allege-animal-welfare-concerns-at-popular-zoo
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Animals being injured in introductions does happen but that one will get more cover and reaction than the husbandry problems I imagine.

The sloth area seems really odd and not how you’d expect sloths to be kept in any zoo in the region. The conditions highlighted seem very poor indeed. Do the sloths there really have no resting spaces, climbing areas, enrichment or bedding?

I am always a little sceptical of agenda lead media coverage but I can’t think of anywhere exhibiting their sloths in that way if that is how the enclosure is as a whole. And the Aardvark behaviour looks wrong even to a visitor eye.

I suppose timing of the coverage is to match the meeting etc. It appears to be lots of agendas on all sides and the poor animals in the middle.
 
Lafone said:
The sloth area seems really odd and not how you’d expect sloths to be kept in any zoo in the region. The conditions highlighted seem very poor indeed. Do the sloths there really have no resting spaces, climbing areas, enrichment or bedding?
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Here is a good video of the sloth enclosure on Durrell's facebook when they arrived:
Meet our new sloths | Introducing our new residents, super slow-moving Linne’s two-toed sloths, Terry and Rio! Rio is from recently closed Bristol Zoo. Terry joins us... | By Jersey ZooFacebook
The pictures in the ITV article are of the sloths below their intended area, on the public walkways.
 
What a mess, what a shame. Jersey Zoo is one of my favourite zoos in the UK and Durrell do such fantastic field work to boot. I really hope for sake of the zoo and the Trust this is resolved quickly. I can’t help think that none of this arguing is actually helping the welfare of the keepers or the animals.

As for the aardvarks, if all zoos got £1 for every injured animal in introductions no zoo would have financial troubles. It’s the risk that is ran when mixing new individuals, no matter the species. The Knowsley programme recently covered the death of their tigress when introduced to their male a year or so back. I personally think the group using the aardvark as an example of poor welfare in their fight against the board is pretty bottom of the barrel stuff. I’m almost certain it wouldn’t have been the first animal to be injured in an introduction at Jersey Zoo.
 
Introduction of animals can be a very fraught experience for both the animals and staff and superficial wounds can occur in the blink of an eye. I am not condoning what has been happening because I don't have all of the facts but as I have said in a previous post, reputations are definitely on the line here. I would like to be a musca domestica on the wall for the E M G.
 
Only a matter of time I suspect before Lee, as the last surviving prominent Durrell, gets dragged into this publicly.

Also, I couldn’t help myself and clicked on the link within the article to an interview with Damian Aspinall. Raises nothing new although, to be fair, he does make a valid point on individual zoos being upfront and honest about their conservation work.
 
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jersey_insider said:
Here is a good video of the sloth enclosure on Durrell's facebook when they arrived:
Meet our new sloths | Introducing our new residents, super slow-moving Linne’s two-toed sloths, Terry and Rio! Rio is from recently closed Bristol Zoo. Terry joins us... | By Jersey ZooFacebook
The pictures in the ITV article are of the sloths below their intended area, on the public walkways.
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Thanks, looks like they just need to stop them wandering down there then. It's a bit unfair not to show the main sloth area, it's good to know they aren't living on the stairs!
 
Aardvark having little covering will show skin injuries more than hairier mammals would. Unfair example.

Goats are/were a bad fit and should be at a Rare Breeds Farm.

The sloths however are a genuine concern and should be removed immediately whether that is a new cage at Jersey or somewhere else. I cannot think of any animal that works suit that appalling excuse for an enclosure.

A lot of "he said, she said" going on.

Glad to see Quentin Bloxham is still around!
 
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GaryA said:
Aardvark having little covering will show skin injuries more than hairier mammals would. Unfair example.

Goats are/were a bad fit and should be at a Rare Breeds Farm.

The sloths however are a genuine concern and should be removed immediately whether that is a new cage at Jersey or somewhere else. I cannot think of any animal that works suit that appalling excuse for an enclosure.

A lot of "he said, she said" going on.

Glad to see Quentin Bloxham is still around!
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Looking at the video posted above by jersey insider of the actual sloth enclosure it looks comparable to others I can think of a few such as Longleat that look very similar and have the same sloth to visitor proximity. Obviously if they climb down into the walkway that should be corrected as needed as sloths on the floor is poor. But it’s not their enclosure it seems yet it is said to be one in the interview. And it works - I certainly have the same reaction to the pictures.

It does appear to be some pictures used of what isn’t actually the enclosure however which I think is a bit strange in itself.
 
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Oh dear-do you mean the journalist was misleading? I fell for it!

However, it does sound that the enclosure is far from ideal for a sensitive species and offers little natural to engage the animals.
 
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