A BID by a rebel group to put its members on Durrell’s board of trustees has failed after the wildlife organisation’s own picks took every available seat.
More than 1,000 people voted in an election on Thursday evening which could have completely overturned the Zoo’s leadership.
Announcing the results of the annual general meeting, chair Matthew Hatchwell, who was voted back in on the night, told the 300 people who had gathered at the Zoo: “If any members feel they cannot support our leadership as we enter this new period in Durrell’s history, we encourage them to reflect on whether a Durrell membership is right for them.”
Durrell faced a raft of allegations and high-profile departures in 2023 and 2024, resulting in senior members of the organisation entering mediation with the group of members behind the criticism, who named themselves We Love the Zoo.
When the talks failed, a motion was lodged in an attempt to oust the entire board earlier this year, and thousands of members voted in an EGM. The board came out on top – and promised that the turmoil would be a catalyst for positive changes for the charity.
But We Love The Zoo continued its campaign, and put forward a slate of Jersey-based candidates for eight available trustee positions. Among their preferred candidates were a former chief executive of Durrell, a former minister and several ex-keepers.
However, Durrell’s existing board of trustees put forward their own preferred list – with each of their picks coming far ahead of the competition. None of We Love the Zoo’s candidates were elected.
The online voting platform gave members the option to use a “quick vote” to select all of the trustees’ preferred candidates.
The measure was criticised ahead of the meeting and on the night, but robustly defended by trustee Richard Daggett, who said that selecting the “quick vote” option did not restrict choice in any way.
Durrell members also voted on several rule changes, and a motion to make it compulsory for the chair to reside in Jersey, but this failed.
Lee Durrell, Gerald Durrell’s widow, who is an honorary director at the trust, spoke against the idea.
“You will know that in the very early days, Jersey Zoo was the biggest part of the trust,” she said. “But 50, 60 years on and we’re now an international conservation organisation – half of our staff do not live in Jersey.”
The rule would eliminate potentially “the best” leader for the organisation, she added.
The results
The newly elected trustees are:
– Matthew Hatchwell (board of trustees pick and incumbent chair): 749 votes
– Andrew Cunningham (board of trustees pick): 774 votes
– Kirsten Pullen (board of trustees pick): 755 votes
– Gary Clark (board of trustees pick and incumbent): 748 votes
– John Regan (board of trustees pick): 733 votes
– Niall Husbands (board of trustees pick, co-opted to the board since 2024): 700 votes
– Sarah Cook (board of trustees pick and incumbent): 697 votes
– Richard Prosser (board of trustees pick): 680 votes
The other candidates were:
– Glyn Young (We Love The Zoo): 383 votes
– Quentin Bloxham (We Love The Zoo): 378 votes
– Ian Singleton (We Love The Zoo): 335 votes
– Paul Masterton (We Love The Zoo): 295 votes
– Kiley Henley (We Love The Zoo): 278 votes
– John Miskelly (We Love The Zoo): 251 votes
– Gregory Guida (We Love The Zoo): 248 votes
– Cillian Lohan (We Love The Zoo): 244 votes
– Iain Valentine: 110 votes
– Syeda Mahrukh Ali: 54 votes
