Veterinary MP Dr Neil Hudson lent his animal health and welfare expertise to the Zoological Society of London (Leases) Bill Committee where MPs scrutinised the proposed legislation that would allow London Zoo to increase their lease at Regent’s Park.
The Bill amends the Crown Estate Act 1961, to increase the maximum term of the Zoological Society of London's lease to occupy land in Regent's Park from 60 to 150 years - thus enabling London Zoo's long-term future in the heart of the nation's capital. It is being led by Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, who has put it forward as a Private Member's Bill.
Allowing ZSL to increase its lease will unlock the team's ability to raise more private and philanthropic funds to improve their research and conservation work and ensure the site continues to raise its world-leading standards. This will also support the vital sister zoo at Whipsnade.
With his veterinary background, Dr Hudson is a strong supporter of ZSL and the zoo sector more widely. ZSL work to restore wildlife in 69 countries across the world, with it's Regent's Park site at the core of this vital work.
London Zoo, and ZSL's sister zoo at Whipsnade, care for more extinct-in-the-wild species than any other zoos in the UK as well as 100 gravely endangered species and 20,000 animals.
If ZSL could extend its lease, the team has said it would be able to more quickly progress with plans to create the world's first multi-disciplinary nature campus, bringing together universities from across the UK, the US, and beyond, to turn our site into the focus for the global conversation about how people and nature can live together.
On top of this the economic impetus for safeguarding the zoo's future is huge. London Zoo is in the top ten most visited tourist attractions in the capital, attracting 1.5 million visitors in the last year - contributing more than £24 million to the local economy and over £54 to the national.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
"London Zoo is a hub of world-leading zoological research and conservation. As such, I am proud to support Bob Blackman's common-sense Bill to unlock funding for the Zoological Society of London and secure the zoo's future.
"With species in decline across the globe, now more than ever we must be proactive in our conservation efforts - of which London Zoo and its sister zoo at Whipsnade are at the forefront. I look forward to supporting the Bill further as it progresses through Parliament."
