Turning back the years?
I very much enjoyed reading the Gerald Durrell feature (Durrell and Other Animals, April 2017). He really was a visionary and an early pioneer of the conservation movement, and did much to change attitudes on the purpose of zoos. I was both saddened and disappointed to learn that the charity he established has changed its name from Durrell Wildlife Park back to Jersey Zoo. The fact that it wasn’t a zoo was its unique selling point, and no doubt attracted many people who otherwise wouldn’t have visited. I can’t help thinking that the name change is a massive backwards step for the trust. Dr Lee Durrell MBE, honorary director Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust replies: Putting ‘zoo’ back into Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust reinforces what Gerald had been working towards all his life – to ensure that zoos are genuine and powerful instruments for conservation. Today we embrace the word ‘zoo’, because modern zoos have made great progress in the service of conservation, both in the zoo setting and in the wild. dive in Puerto Rico, he went to a depth of 14 metres, and it took seven minutes before the magazine broke up!