THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND - Edinburgh Zoo

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Chief Executive's statement
In our hundredth year it’s important
that we take a moment to reflect on
just how far we’ve come. From the
outset RZSS was established with
conservation as a central focus and
over the years this has been developed
beyond what our founder could have
possibly foreseen. We are now involved
in initiating and supporting conservation
projects around the world. Furthermore,
we are undertaking pioneering research
and providing learning experiences to a
wider audience than ever before.
ANNUAL REVIEW • 2009 • THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND
2009 has been an exceptional year. I would like to thank our members, our hard
working staff and our volunteers for making it so. There was a truly united spirit and
energy at the many events held to celebrate our centenary, including our Wild Bus,
our polar bear appeal and the award of the RZSS Centenary Medal to Sir David
Attenborough. In addition to these celebrations, we made significant progress in
each of our charitable objectives of conservation, education and research.
The Society became the Secretariat for the UK National Committee of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN ), the world’s oldest and largest
global conservation network. This important appointment will enable RZSS to be
involved in developing IUCN conservation strategies internationally as well as generating
conservation policy.
Our plans to increase our presence across Scotland came closer to being
realised as we formalised our relationship with the Zoological Society of Glasgow
and West of Scotland. The remaining land at the site of the old Glasgow Zoo is to
be sold to provide funds for building a new animal attraction in Glasgow and we look
forward to developing plans for this in 2010.
Our conservation projects both at home and abroad made good progress. In
Scotland, Norwegian beavers were reintroduced on a trial basis to Mid Argyll, the
survey of Scottish wildcats in the Cairngorms began and water vole populations in the
Trossachs grew. Further afield, our work in the Budongo Forest in Uganda and in the
Pantanal in Brazil continued to produce vital research.
As the role of genetics in wildlife conservation and research becomes increasingly
important, the Society took steps to ensure it has the ability and capacity to make
a significant contribution including building a dedicated genetics laboratory. Grant
applications will be submitted in 2010 to expand our capacity further.
In 2009 we developed a new schools education programme based on the
Curriculum for Excellence. Our outreach initiatives and increased relationship with
the Edinburgh International Science Festival helped to deliver our education work far
beyond the boundaries of our two parks.