SENIOR managers at Durrell did not attend this year’s Annual General Meeting because “legitimate criticism” had gone “too far”, becoming “threatening behaviour targeted at particular individuals”, the wildlife charity has said.
Durrell made the claims in response to a statement published by a number of Zoo critics, including former staff members, who have successfully called for an Extraordinary General Meeting.
The EGM, which will take place on Thursday 2 May at 6pm at the Freedom Centre in Bath Street, was arranged following a formal request made by 62 members who are part of the “We Love the Zoo” group.
A resolution proposed for debate by the group states: “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.”
As part of their campaign, the group published a list of allegations against the charity’s management.
Responding to concerns that the 2023 AGM was “farcical”, with two security guards in attendance, “while the senior management team declined to show their faces”, Durrell said: “The decision that senior management team members should not attend the AGM in October 2023 was made by the board of trustees.
“If legitimate criticism of Durrell as an organisation goes too far and becomes threatening behaviour targeted at particular individuals, it becomes an issue for the board of trustees, which has a duty of care towards all employees. That line was crossed several times in the run-up to the AGM.”
The rebel group also claimed that “an extraordinary number” of experienced staff had left the Zoo. Durrell responded that not all departures were the result of disagreement with the charity’s management team or trustees, and that they remained on good terms with many former staff members.
Addressing allegations of bullying and poor animal welfare, Durrell said: “The board’s commitment to the welfare of the animals and people who work at Durrell is unwavering.”
The charity also said that the amount of money that the Zoo had spent dealing with the disgruntled group was “extremely high” – and that the group had attempted to “coerce” the charity into accepting two of its own members onto the board.
Durrell said these costs included the “significant number of hours that trustees and senior staff have spent engaging with this group since July 2023.
It added: “This time would have been much better spent focusing on fulfilment of the trust’s mission and working collaboratively with staff on the development of our post-2025 strategy.”
The statement continued: “Demands that have been rejected by the trustees include an attempt to coerce the board into giving two leaders of the requisition group preferential treatment by co-opting them onto the board of trustees without any due process.
“This is not consistent with good governance, nor in the best interests of the trust.
“The group has also made inappropriate demands in relation to individual employees, which would breach our duty of care to the staff concerned.”
