DURRELL’s toughest year yet has been laid bare in its 2024 accounts – showing a steep drop in visitor numbers, plunging donations, shrinking commercial income and a six-figure bill for staff departures.
The newly published annual report reveals how the Trust, already rocked by the ‘We Love the Zoo’ campaign group’s bid to unseat its board, endured one of the most testing periods in its history both financially and operationally.
Visitor numbers slumped by 16% to 175,940 – their lowest level since the pandemic, and “at the lower end of the historic trend of visitation for the past 15 years”.
Meanwhile, commercial takings from shops, restaurants and accommodation fell by £555,000, and voluntary income from both individuals and corporates dropped sharply.
At the same time, exit payments rose substantially. £121,000 was paid out to six employees who left the organisation, more than double the previous year when two staff members were compensated for loss of office.
Post-pandemic recovery gains were wiped out, with the year ending with a £4.8m deficit, which was higher than the budgeted figure of £3.6m despite under-budget spending.
2024 was marked by a campaign to dethrone the charity’s trustees in an attempt to counter what a group of members saw as ‘Disneyfication’ of the charity to the detriment of the species it looks after and an alleged “toxic” work culture.
Writing in the report, the Durrell board maintained that it worked closely with the group to demonstrate that staff and animal welfare were a “top priority” and that “correct procedures are in place to deal with these matters”.
It added that this campaign, which led to an Extraordinary General Meeting in May, had placed “unsustainable demands on our time and resources, diverting us from vital work to save species, restore habitats, and raise valuable funds”.
The Trust also noted that inflation, both in Jersey and at its overseas field projects, had piled on “financial strain” – for example in Madagascar, where it reached 7.6%. This added to the pressure of capital projects, and staff costs rising from £7.3m to £8.4m, with the total employee bill accounting for 49% of the charity’s overall spending.
It said that 2025 – a year which would have been founder Gerald Durrell’s 100th birthday – would involve “focus” on “cost reductions” and “operational efficiencies”.
- Full analysis of Durrell’s bruising year and its performance since the Jersey Zoo rebrand on pages 8 and 9 of today’s JEP.
