ZSL marks 200th anniversary with £20m boost for wildlife health

Visitors will watch live veterinary procedures and conservation science in new wildlife health centre.

ZSL marks its two hundredth anniversary today (Wednesday 29 April 2026) with the unveiling of ambitious plans for a new world-leading wildlife health centre – made possible by the most significant donation to the global conservation charity in its 200-year history.

The new £20m centre will be built at ZSL’s UK headquarters at Regent's Park. As well as delivering world-class care for the Zoos’ animals and supporting ZSL’s global science and conservation efforts - from monitoring emerging diseases in the wild to strengthening early warning systems that could prevent the next pandemic - it will bring veterinary science to the public, with visitors to the centre able to watch live procedures.

For 200 years ZSL has brought people and wildlife together in the spirit of understanding and discovery, and the planned centre will continue that legacy with the UK’s first public viewing gallery in a vet hospital – giving people the chance to see everything from penguin health checks to porpoise post-mortems.

From employing the world’s first zoo vet in 1829, to constructing Europe’s first purpose-built zoo vet hospital 70 years ago, to giving 250,000 children a unique glimpse into the veterinary world through its Vets in Action role-play programme, ZSL’s veterinary heritage is unrivalled.

The anonymous gift will see ZSL create a brand-new centre integrating clinical care, a teaching hospital and wildlife disease research. Central to the project is a commitment to the One Health approach; recognising that the health of animals, people and ecosystems is fundamentally interconnected. With its new centre, ZSL sets out a clear proposition that wildlife health is global health and must be treated as such.

ZSL’s decades of studying wildlife diseases and their spread has helped build global understanding of how they pass between species, including to humans, and how to mitigate them. From understanding the spread of bovine tuberculosis to studying multiple viruses carried by bats and what affects their spillover into humans, ZSL’s work aims to help ensure a healthy co-existence between people and wildlife.

Kathryn England, ZSL CEO said: “For 200 years, ZSL has been committed to growing our understanding of wildlife and taking people on that journey with us; from opening the world’s first scientific zoo, to launching the Institute of Zoology, and establishing global conservation projects. In those two centuries we have evolved from studying wildlife, to conserving it, to fighting for it.

“Today, as we celebrate our bicentenary with the announcement of our ambitious new wildlife health centre, we are drawing on those two centuries of scientific leadership, making us uniquely positioned to deliver this vision. We established the foundations of modern zoo veterinary care, have advanced conservation science on a global scale and been at the vanguard of public engagement with wildlife; our history has shaped how wildlife is studied, treated and protected. Now, that legacy becomes a platform for action.”

ZSL’s influence on modern zoo and wildlife veterinary care can be seen throughout its history, from the employment of veterinarian Charles Spooner in 1829, who visited the Zoo’s animals twice a week, to the appointment of Britain’s first dedicated zoo vet in 1951, Oliver Graham-Jones. Graham-Jones oversaw the creation of Europe’s first purpose-built zoo vet hospital, which is still in use today at London Zoo. 

Teaching hundreds of wildlife veterinarians and conservation scientists, ZSL already delivers postgraduate training, specialist short courses, and field-based training with partners in biodiversity hotspots – work which can be expanded with the new centre.

ZSL’s Head of Wildlife Health Services, Dr. Amanda Guthrie said: “This is a truly momentous way to mark ZSL’s 200^th anniversary, and as an organisation founded with a mission to better understand wildlife, this is an extraordinary recognition of that work.

“I’m personally so excited that visitors will be able to see this work as it’s happening, building on the enormous efforts we already make to inspire the next generation of conservationists.”

Kathryn England adds: “As ZSL turns 200, we are not looking back, we are setting the agenda for the future. This is a line in the sand.

“We can’t wait to share more as our plans for the wildlife health centre take shape over the coming months.”

To find out more and support ZSL’s global work in its bicentenary year, including the development of its new wildlife health centre, visit zsl.org/200