BIAZA Appoints First External President

BIAZA, the professional body representing the British and Irish zoo and aquarium community, today announces the appointment of its first President – Professor Sir Drummond Bone, who will next month retire as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool. He took up the post on 1 August, and on Tuesday 12 August he will be at ZSL London Zoo to meet staff and a black-and-white ruffed lemur, a threatened primate from Madagascar.

BIAZA is a conservation, education and wildlife charity, representing over 90 members in Britain and Ireland, including all the major zoos and aquariums. It works closely with government on many aspects of animal welfare. It is run by its membership, with a governing Council comprising zoo directors, curators and other professionals from the zoo and aquarium community including vets, educators and marketing/PR advisers.

The appointment of Professor Sir Drummond Bone as the first president of BIAZA is an important step forward, as he will be an active and engaging figurehead, enabling the charity to forge much closer links with government and the business sector.

Professor Sir Drummond Bone said: “Zoos and aquaria have an important role not only as agents of conservation and education – never more important than now as the natural environment is under hugely increasing pressure from our own human race – but as places where people of all backgrounds and all ages come together and mix with a communal and selfless interest.”

Dr Miranda Stevenson, Director of BIAZA said: “The appointment of BIAZA’s first President is a mark of the organisation’s continuing development as a professional and advisory body. We wanted the very best person to fill this role, so it has taken us two years of painstaking research to find the ideal appointment, and we are delighted to have such a distinguished academic as Professor Sir Drummond Bone to be the very first President of BIAZA. His wealth of experience and enlightened interest will help drive the Association forward and assist with the important work of zoos and aquariums.”

Professor Sir Drummond Bone
Professor Sir J Drummond Bone is currently Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool and was President of Universities UK from August 2005 to August 2007. Previously he was Principal of Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, University of London and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of London.

He was previously a Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow and is known internationally for his work on Romantic Studies, in particular Byron. He was academic editor of the ‘Byron Journal’ for ten years and co-edits currently the journal ‘Romanticism’. He is the contributing editor of the ‘Cambridge Companion to Byron’.

As a University leader and manager he has been particularly involved in the relationship between universities and business and industry and is currently a member of the CBI Science and Innovation Board. During the run up to the City of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture he chaired the Culture Company responsible for the year’s cultural activities. He is Chairman of FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) and of the UK Library Research Reserve Project.

He will be retiring from the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in September 2008. He was knighted “for services to Higher Education and the regeneration of the north west” in the 2008 Birthday Honours list.

He is married to Vivian, an academic publisher, and he lists his recreations as music, skiing and Maseratis – but like most Scots, he also plays golf.

Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur
This lemur (Varecia variegata) is an endangered primate from Madagascar. This lemur occurs in the eastern rain-forest. It eats mostly fruit, supplemented with nectar, seeds and leaves. Groups range in size between two and five individuals. Its IUCN conservation status is Endangered.

The black and white ruffed lemur that Professor Sir Drummond Bone will meet is called Dana.

BIAZA
The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) is a conservation, education and wildlife charity (charity no. 248553). It was founded in 1966, then known as the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland, to bring together the principles and best practice of zoo animal welfare. It was the major contributor to the development of the Zoo Licensing Act (1981), the forerunner of all subsequent UK and European legislation on captive animal welfare. It represents over 90 member organisations including all the significant zoos and aquariums in Britain and Ireland.

Its vision is ‘to be a powerful force in the care and conservation of the natural world’ and its mission is to support and lead its members:

* to inspire people to help conserve the natural world
* to participate in effective co-operative conservation programmes
* to deliver the highest quality environmental education, training and research
* to achieve the highest standards of animal care and welfare in zoos, aquariums and in the wild

BIAZA http://www.biaza.org.uk

Photo: New BIAZA President, Prof Drummond Bone and Chair of BIAZA, Mr Simon Tonge