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ZSL announces a record £20 million donation to mark its 200th anniversary
Howard Lake | 13 May 2026 | News
As it marked its 200th anniversary on 29 April the Zoological Society of London announced that it had received its largest ever donation, a £20 million gift made anonymously.
The charity which runs London and Whipsnade zoos will use the donation to build a wildlife health centre at its London Zoo headquarters in Regent’s Park in north London.
“Ambitious plans” for the new centre include the UK’s first viewing gallery in a vet hospital. Visitors will be able to watch live procedures from behind a glass window, as animals receive treatment or medical care, “from penguin health checks to porpoise post-mortems”.
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Kathryn England, ZSL chief executive, 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…
“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.”
Dr. Amanda Guthrie, Head of Wildlife Health Services, commented on the major donation:
“This is a truly momentous way to mark ZSL’s 200th anniversary, and as an organisation founded with a mission to better understand wildlife, this is an extraordinary recognition of that work”.
WATCH: ZSL’s 200 years of bringing people and wildlife together
Other recent record donations
- Royal Academy of Music receives record £30 million donation (11 December 2025)
- Royal Osteoporosis Society receives £1 million donation (25 February 2026)
- National Trust receives biggest cash donation in its history (14 January 2026)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.