Select a region
The CEO of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has resigned from her post after the running of Jersey Zoo came under the national spotlight.
In a statement released shortly after 17:00, the charity's board of trustees said they were "sad" to announce her departure.
It comes after criticism of the running of Jersey Zoo was raised in a social media post by a former worker. They raised concerns about both the animals and treatment of staff, suggesting that there was a culture of fear preventing them from speaking out if they felt something to be wrong.
That criticism made national headlines, with the Times drawing attention to the criticism in a piece entitled 'Gerald Durell's zoo accused of chasing cash with cute animals'.
However, Durrell's trustees strongly refuted any suggestion that worker concerns and animal welfare had not been taken seriously. In the wake of the concerns raised on social media, Jersey's States Vet completed an inspection of Jersey Zoo and found nothing of concern.
The statement shared this afternoon read: "The Board of Trustees and the Senior Management Team thank Dr Dickie for her leadership over the past seven years and wish her well in the next chapter of her career.
"Dr Dickie will remain in post until November and at that time hand over the reins to Rebecca Brewer, Director of Finance and Commercial who will take up the post as Interim CEO."
The statement also paid tribute to Dr Dickie's contribution to both the zoo and global conservation efforts.
"The Trust’s commitment to saving species and their habitats is reflected in the 73% increase in spending on mission delivery between 2016 and 2022, the most significant portion of this increase was on direct conservation in field, science and training. In addition, the number of people employed in Durrell’s Rewilding Sites has increased from 60 in 2015 to 143 in 2023 as a commitment to achieving Durrell's ambitious strategy.
"In 2020, following the Wakashio oil spill in Mauritius, Dr Dickie made the bold decision to bring three species of rare reptiles to Jersey Zoo that might otherwise be facing extinction. This was no mean feat, given the travel restrictions in place at the time, as well as the urgent timescales for the translocation. Dr Dickie was also the driving force behind Durrell’s nature-based climate solution, Rewild Carbon, and Durrell’s two island-wide sculpture trails, Go Wild Gorillas in 2019 and Tortoise Takeover this summer.
"Prior to 2016 there were concerns that Jersey Zoo would have to close due to falling visitor numbers and their impact on the financial stability of the Trust. Under Dr Dickie’s tenure, visitor numbers in 2019 reached their highest in nearly 20 years and the team is now rebuilding visitor numbers again post-Covid. More recently, Jersey Zoo has been recognised by TripAdvisor as one of their top 10% of attractions worldwide."
Pictured top: Dr Lesley Dickie. (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust/Jersey Zoo)
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.