Reference no: EM132390328
Individual Case Report "London Zoo"
Case questions:
- In your view, who are the major stakeholders of London Zoo, and how important are they? Please explain why.
- If you were in charge (while keeping the constraints in mind), what strategies would you recommend? Please be mindful of threats and opportunities the organisation faces and its strengths and weaknesses.
Article:
London Zoo, in Regent's Park, is one of two zoological gardens which are controlled and administered by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), which has research partnersall round the world and a high reputation for its work and publications.
The Society's originalcharter laiddown its primary purpose as "the advancement of zoology and animal physiology, and the introduction of new and curious subjects of the animal kingdom", but this has been modified in the current mission. ZSL now exists to 'promote and achieve the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats'. 'Living conservation' is a key strapline. Its visionis'a world where animals are valued, and their conservation assured'. These are pursued by:
?Keeping and presenting animals at the two zoos;
?Prioritizing threatened species;
?Helping people become more aware of animal welfare and conservation issues; ?Maintaining an education program;
?Undertaking both conservation work and serious zoological research;
?Publishing activities.
However, ZSL has to generate an income from visitorsto supplement its other sources of revenue. Therefore, from the mission must stem a fundamental dilemma: how much is a zoo a place of entertainment and relaxation, with customers being paramount, and how much is it an organization with primarily educational and scientific purposes? One commercial constraint for London Zoo is the fact that Regent's Park is a Royal Park and that bylaws restrict certain activities, such as on-site advertising.
There are basically five main activities: London Zoo, Whipsnade Park, The Institute of Zoology (conferencing and publishing), conservation programs and the world-renowned library. At times, in the past, the zoo has received a series ofannual grants from the Department of the Environmentand, in 1988, for example, it was given £10 million as a designated one-off payment 'to put it on a firm financial footing'. It remains 'the only national collection in the world not publicly funded on a regular basis'.
Income is essentially from visitors, the majority of whom live within comfortable travelling distance ofLondon, through membership and admission fees and merchandising, but there are some research grants. Many of the visitors are on organized school trips, and weather conditions are very important in attracting or deterring people. Many visitors are attracted by big animals, as evidenced by the commercial success of safari parks, but these are costly and dangerous, and well-researched, and many (not all) are relatively safe as far as endangered species go. Quite often, the most endangered species are relatively unattractive to visitors. Whipsnade is regarded as more ideal for big animals. London Zoo, for many years, has had no hippos (since the 1960s - although there are pygmy hippos in the collection) - and no bears (since 1986) but, more recently, some large animals have been brought back to counter visitor criticism. There are, for example, giraffes, lions, tigers and leopards. However, in 2001, and following an incident with a visitor, London Zoo's elephants were moved to Whipsnade. Visitors can drive around Whipsnade, parking in various places en route, but it is not a safari park.
There are some 750 species at London Zoo, of which over 100 can be classified as 'threatened'. There are breeding programs for 130 species.
Critics have sometimes argued that London Zoo's management has failed fully to exploit the zoo's conservation work by featuring it in informative displays, and that much of the zoo's important and scientifically renowned research is not recognized by the general public. This may have been correct, but the fact remains that much of the important conservation work involves species which are relatively uninteresting for many public visitors - for example, the rare Rodriguez fruit bat.
The Department of the Environment paid for a report by independent consultants (1987-1988) which concluded that 'management at London Zoo did not reflect the commercial emphasis which was essential for survival and prosperity without a permanent subsidy'. They recommended the establishment of a new company to manage London and Whipsnade Zoos, separate from the scientific research of the Zoological Society. This company was established in October 1988, with the aim of reversing the falling trend in admissions and returning the zoo to profit in three years. The numbers of visitors did increase in 1989 and 1990, but below the level required to break even.
In April 1991, newspapers first reported that London Zoo may have to close, with some animals destroyed and others moved to Whipsnade. The government refused further financial assistance, not wholly convinced of the need for urban zoos. Cost reduction per sewas ruled out, as this was likely to provoke a new fall in admissions. Instead, rescue plans concentrated on a smaller zoo with a new concept: natural habitats such as an African rainforest complete with gorillas, and a Chinese mountain featuring the pandas.
There would be less emphasis on caged animals. These developments have taken place but there have still been criticisms from some groups that the space for gorillas is inadequate when compared with the facilities they enjoy in some other zoos. The reality is, of course, that only so much can be done in 36 acres while still retaining a collection that is attractive to visitors.
Although changes were made, attendances continued to fall. The zoo's closure was announced formally in June 1992. New external funding provided a reprieve, but this was a wake-up call.
Since 1992, the zoo has secured its survival by emphasizing its role as a conservation center, breeding endangered species and returning them to the wild.
During the 1990s, ZSL managed to break even by using publicity more effectively to attract some one million visitors a year.
More recently, the zoo has stopped providing pony rides for children, declaring that this is not an appropriate form of entertainment.
The Mappin Café was renovated in 2002.
There is an ongoing renovation project in London to replace cages with enclosures which recreate the animals' natural environments, thus providing a better lifestyle for the animals and a more realistic visitor experience.
In 2005, two walkthroughs for African birds and monkeys were opened, followed by a new Gorilla Kingdom and Rain-forest Lookout in 2007.
In 2008, the Bird House was reopened as a tropical rainforest.
The year 2009 brought the Giants of the Galapagos exhibit to house giant tortoises.
The new Penguin Beach that opened in 2011 is the largest penguin pool in England and it is used to inform visitors about ZSL's conservation work in Antarctica.
Another recent development has been with lemurs. When the Tiger SOS appeal was launched in February 2011 to help protect and conserve Sumatran tigers, it was the zoo's largest ever fund raising campaign. Since then, ZSL has turned its attention to a campaign to secure the survival of Asiatic lions.
In 2016, the Zoo opened a new £5 million exhibit which recreates a village located in a forest in Indiawhere visitors can see lions in an unusual but still natural habitat. Over a thousand props have been brought over from India - including rickshaws, bicycles and genuine posters; railway tracks have been laid, and there is a mock railway station.
A live-action adventure is enacted, where visitors can see park rangers and vets come to the rescue of lions threatened in an emergency. The 'Land of the Lions,' is home to London Zoo's four Asiatic lions. There are now some 500 Asiatic lions left in the world and, in the wild, they survive only in one forest (Gir) in India. This makes them particularly vulnerable to some potential catastrophic event, although, thanks to dedicated conservation work, a decimated population of just 20 has been increased to 500 in 120 years. In the Gir Forest, lions and people live alongside each other, but at London Zoo there are protective fences!
New rhino and cheetah exhibits were opened at Whipsnade in 2008.While some changes in the last 20 years have been forced on the zoo by external pressures, others have been voluntary.
Ultimately, London Zoo has to find a business model that attracts sufficient visitors and revenue in the face of competition from a wide range of other tourist attractions. In 2002-2003, ZSL had incoming resources of £34 million - of this £13.1 million came from members subscriptions and admission charges; £4.2 million from merchandising and catering; and £3.7 million from grants. These grants did not amount to public subsidies; half of the total was HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council) research funding channeled through the University of Cambridge. Most of the other half came from individual grants related to specific projects. Profit after tax was £1.4 million. In 2002, there were 815000 paying visitors at London Zoo, with a further 445000 at Whipsnade. Five years later, in 2007, the corresponding figures were that London Zoo had attracted 1.1 million visitors and Whipsnade 475000. The increase in numbers during the year was the highest for 15 years. ZSL had incoming resources of £40.1 million and it spent 36.6 million, yielding a surplus of £3.5 million. There had been some grants for specific projects and a capital spend of nearly £8 million. Ten years later in 2012, income had reached £52 million with a net surplus of £6.6 million. London Zoo had 1235000 visitors and Whipsnade 548000. The finances have over the years been helped by a 'healthy increase' in voluntary income and donations; the more visible collection has helped with both visitor numbers and donations.