Zoological Society of London (Leases) Bill

Lord Randall of Uxbridge Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 10th May 2024 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Randall of Uxbridge]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to bring forward to your Lordships’ House this simple but very important Bill, which was admirably steered through the other place by my honourable friend Bob Blackman, an exemplary constituency MP and a champion of ZSL. I declare some entries in the register, of conservation charities that I am a trustee of and in particular that I am a vice-president of Fauna and Flora International.

In his speech, my honourable friend Bob Blackman paid fulsome praise to Matthew Gould and Victoria Godwin of ZSL for their briefing and encouragement. I echo that praise and praise all those staff—those working in research, those in the zoological gardens and so on—for all the hard work they do. I pay tribute to Matthew Gould’s predecessor, Dominic Jermey, who was on this a long time ago and would, I am sure, be delighted to see what is happening today.

This Bill is a simple Bill, which is rather apt because I am a rather simple person. It is asking for an equally simple change to the Crown Estate Act 1961: it asks for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which grants the lease, to be given the power to offer a lease of up to 150 years, as ZSL is currently limited to 60 years. This would bring the lease arrangement into line with other leases of Crown Estate law governed by the 1961 Act, as well as the Crown Estate leases for equivalent organisations such as the very well renowned and famous Kew Gardens.

So why is this needed? It is because it will give certainty of length of time, so that the Zoological Society of London can create a lot of good things. It can create the world’s first campus for nature. With that certainty, it can do a lot more on research innovations and do lots of stuff in the zoo, including making natural landscapes and giving truly accessible opportunities. I think that we all would welcome that. A longer lease will allow ZSL to modernise London Zoo, increasing visitor numbers and hence income for the charity, which is the income that is then put back into conservation and scientific research.

Noble Lords will be pleased to know that I do not have enough time to talk in detail about the incredible work ZSL has done on conservation, both at home and abroad, ranging in the UK from working on hedgehogs with HogWatch, to TB in badgers. I well remember chairing a debate at ZSL on TB in badgers, which was more difficult to chair than any Brexit debate, to be perfectly honest. However, I got through relatively unscathed. ZSL has also been working on oysters in the UK, and lots of other projects both here and of course around the world. It is recognised as being at the forefront of all that.

My first ambition when I was a very small boy—it seems a long time ago—was to be a zookeeper. I got close to that only when I became government Deputy Chief Whip, keeping control of wild creatures—and sometimes cleaning up after them. I have enjoyed visiting the zoo for I think over 60 years, and it has marked many parts of my life. I remember when I was younger seeing the famous Guy the gorilla and Chi-Chi the giant panda, who rejected the amorous advances of the Russian An-An. Those of a certain age may remember that; we had high hopes, but it was not to be. There was also Josephine the great hornbill, which was a very long-lived bird.

Latterly, I remember as a student playing football in Regent’s Park and hearing the lions roar and the elephants walking in the distance while I was fouling Opposition Members—no, obviously, that would be wrong; I mean opposition players. Then, most memorably, when I was government Deputy Chief Whip, we organised a Whips’ outing to ZSL and my Chief Whip, now the noble Lord, Lord McLoughlin, entered the Komodo dragon enclosure. They gave each other a look of equal awe, both being animals of great distinction.

This has given me over my life a fascination and an admiration for wildlife. I have been lucky enough to travel quite extensively around the world and see a lot of these creatures in their natural habitat, and I have seen the conservation work going on. However, it was that initial visit to the zoo, where I could see the animals at close hand and smell them, which gave me this lifelong passion for wildlife and conservation. I have had some of the happiest moments in my life at both London Zoo and Whipsnade. I therefore hope we will have mutual agreement, and I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Con)]

My Lords, I thank all those who have taken part in this joyful debate, as described by the noble Baroness opposite. It has been a great pleasure to hear all the contributions. The noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, mentioned particularly the therapeutic nature of access, which I have experienced over the years. I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Evans, for his contribution on access and the important conservation work.

My noble friend Lord Bethell was exaggerating, I am afraid, about his children, as we know that they are very, very nice children. I should say that I forgot to mention that I am a member, and have been for some time, and so are my children and grandchildren. I would recommend any Member of your Lordships’ House to join, so that, if it is all getting a bit much for them here, they can just get on the underground, walk across Regent’s Park and talk to the animals that do not talk back. My noble friend also mentioned the incredibly important work that has been going on. The Covid pandemic has made it more important that we understand zoonotic diseases.

To the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, I say that a short Bill is the ideal Private Member’s Bill. Speaking as the Friday Whip for many years down the other end, I can say that this is ideal, as you cannot put too many amendments down. I see there was an attempt by somebody who did it just to tease us, but it is the ideal Bill, not only because you will get it through but because it is very easy—particularly because I do not have to answer any questions.

Finally, I thank my noble friend the Minister—apart from when he divulged some of my secrets, which I thought I had kept quiet. I was obviously mistaken in that. I am delighted that we have got to this stage. If we are lucky enough to pass this Bill, I would put it at the very top of my achievements in Parliament.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.