DURRELL’s chief executive has resigned from her position after scrutiny over the treatment of staff and animals at Jersey Zoo made national headlines.
In a statement released shortly after 5pm today, the charity’s board of trustees said they were ‘sad’ to announce Dr Lesley Dickie’s departure.
It comes after criticism of the running of Jersey Zoo was raised in a social media post by a former worker. They raised concerns about both the animals and treatment of staff, suggesting that there was a culture of fear preventing them from speaking out if they felt something to be wrong.
That criticism made national headlines, with the Times drawing attention to the criticism in a piece entitled ‘Gerald Durell’s zoo accused of chasing cash with cute animals’.
However, Durrell’s trustees strongly refuted any suggestion that worker concerns and animal welfare had not been taken seriously. In the wake of the concerns raised on social media, Jersey’s States Vet completed an inspection of Jersey Zoo and found nothing of concern.
The statement shared this afternoon read: ‘The board of trustees and the senior management team thank Dr Dickie for her leadership over the past seven years and wish her well in the next chapter of her career.
‘Dr Dickie will remain in post until November and at that time hand over the reins to Rebecca Brewer, director of finance and commercial who will take up the post as interim CEO.’
