Zoo bows to members' demand for meeting

BOSSES at Edinburgh Zoo have agreed to hold a crisis meeting with members over the suspension of two senior executives and the sacking of a third, The Scotsman has learned.

Fears have been mounting that management upheaval at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) will put the lucrative deal to bring two pandas to the city at risk.

Now RZSS members will get the chance to question management about allegations against three senior figures, including an investigation triggered by the suspension of chief executive Gary Wilson last month over claims in an anonymous letter.

Donald Emslie, chairman of the RZSS board, has now agreed to hold an emergency general meeting, pledging to "give what information we can legally provide". The RZSS has around 23,000 members, who pay up to 56 a year.

The RZSS celebrated in January after a deal to bring two pandas to the capital's zoo was signed between the UK and Chinese governments.

However, the zoo - which is expected to attract more than a million visitors a year once the pandas arrive - was plunged into crisis on 24 March when it emerged Mr Wilson had been suspended, just months after taking over the role.

Then on 7 April the zoo admitted that two of the three senior officials brought in to run the attraction in Mr Wilson's absence were not in their posts. Director of animals Iain Valentine was suspended while "very serious" allegations were investigated. Director of development Anthony McReavy was dismissed.

The RZSS has refused to discuss the allegations, which have cast a shadow over the expected arrival of the pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, this year.

The zoo has also been under fire for making 16 staff redundant over the past year as part of a huge cost-cutting drive. Visitor numbers also slumped by more than 90,000 last year.

Mr Emslie said: "Members of the Society are a key priority for us and we fully understand that they will be concerned by what they have read in the press.

"We will be holding an emergency general meeting to answer questions and give what information we can legally provide."

RZSS members have warned that urgent action is required to avoid further damage to the body's reputation.

Jim McLean, from Linlithgow, one of the supporters to demand an EGM, said: "The membership have been kept completely in the dark over what is happening. This whole business should have been handled with much more speed and energy. Our concern is over the damage it is doing to the whole society."