ZSL's Mission Statement

To achieve and promote the worldwide conservation of animals and their
habitats.

ZSL pursues this mission by: 

·  keeping and presenting animals at London Zoo and Whipsnade Wild Animal Park in accordance with best practice; 

·  giving priority to species that are threatened in the wild; 

·  increasing public understanding of animals and their welfare and of the issues involved in their conservation; 

·  maintaining an outstanding education and information programme,
particularly for schoolchildren and families; 

·  undertaking field conservation programmes, both in Britain and abroad; 

·  developing its role as a leading centre for research and conservation
biology and animal welfare; 

·  fulfilling its role as a learned society and force for zoology and animal conservation through publications, scientific meetings, lectures, the award of prizes for outstanding achievement and the promotion of conservation
policy.

Our scientists in the laboratory and the field, animal management teams at both zoos and our veterinarians contribute wide-ranging skills and experience to both practical conservation and to the scientific research that underpins this work.
 
The charity is made up of five operating divisions:

• London Zoo;
• Whipsnade Wild Animal Park;
• Institute of Zoology & Scientific
  Publications Department;
• Conservation Programmes;
• Library & Fellowship
  Services. 

The Institute of Zoology - Science for conservation
http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/ioz/index.htm

The Institute of Zoology (IoZ) is the research division of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). It is a government-funded research institute specialising in scientific issues relevant to the conservation of animal species and their habitats. The Institute is based at ZSL's Regents Park site, London.

Our core funding comes from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the same body that supports  universities. Additional research funding for specific projects comes from UK research councils (e.g. NERC, BBSRC, EPSRC) and research charities (e.g. Wellcome and Leverhume trusts), as in university departments.

Since the late 1980s the IoZ has been affiliated to the University of London, but in 2000 this arrangement was replaced with an important new strategic partnership with the University of Cambridge. The background to this change lies in our shared interest in researching scientific issues that underpin decisions affecting biodiversity conservation.

The new partnership highlighted the need for us to focus our research onto key areas. We identified these through considering the new partnership with Cambridge, our links with conservation programmes in London and Cambridge, and animal-related conservation projects in the rest of ZSL. We aim to exploit our unusual status as an academic research body embedded within a conservation charity, but linked to the University of Cambridge.

The seven thematic areas on which we will focus our research in the next few years span evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology,  reproductive biology, wildlife epidemiology, and animal health/welfare. A senior research fellow in the Institute leads each one of these, but staff are not restricted to working within any one theme. Our scientific research and training programmes are outlined on this site and in our annual scientific report. 

Conservation Programmes - ZSL in the field

ZSL staff work closely with local communities in other countries, providing the skills and resouces needed to protect and manage indigenous wildlife.

Our aim is to achieve practical conservation objectives in the field, while training and involving local people.