The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is celebrating its 200th anniversary today (29 April) by unveiling plans for a new world-leading wildlife health centre.
In the new centre at the zoo's headquarters in Regent's Park, animals will receive world-class care, and visitors will be able to watch live veterinary procedures such as penguin health checks and porpoise post-mortems.
The facility will feature the UK's first viewing gallery in a vet hospital, and is made possible by an anonymous £20 million donation – the most significant gift in ZSL's 200-year history.
"For 200 years, ZSL has been committed to growing our understanding of wildlife and taking people on that journey with us; from opening the world's first scientific zoo, to launching the Institute of Zoology, and establishing global conservation projects," said ZSL CEO Kathryn England.
"In those two centuries we have evolved from studying wildlife, to conserving it, to fighting for it."
The new centre will integrate clinical care, a teaching hospital, and wildlife disease research, with London Zoo "setting the agenda for the future", England said.
ZSL already teaches hundreds of wildlife veterinarians and conservation scientists through postgraduate training, specialist short courses, and field-based education, which can be expanded with the new facility.
Amanda Guthrie, ZSL's head of wildlife health services, said: "This is a truly momentous way to mark ZSL's 200th anniversary, and as an organisation founded with a mission to better understand wildlife, this is an extraordinary recognition of that work.
"I'm personally so excited that visitors will be able to see this work happening, building on the enormous efforts we already make to inspire the next generation of conservationists."
Projects to mark the 200th anniversary of ZSL also include a commemorative Royal Mint coin, a new Transport for London poster, and a new podcast series.
Images courtesy of ZSL
