London Zoo will build a new hospital with a viewing gallery for animal lovers to watch vets in action.
With the help of an unprecedented £20million donation from an anonymous benefactor the new facility will replace the zoo’s original 1950s veterinary hospital.
The aim of the centre is to inspire people whether they’re ‘four years old, 40 or 104’ to become a vet, veterinary nurse or study disease in animals.
Whether it’s a CT scan on a penguin, surgery on a big cat or a check up on a newborn zebra visitors will get to see a range of procedures.
However, those hoping to see a Galapagos tortoise may be let down as the vet’s first resort for heavier animals is to treat them in their own enclosures.
Alongside watching operations on live animals, visitors will also be able to see post-mortem examinations.
From a giraffe to a 1cm-long Polynesian tree snail every animal living at the zoo is given a post-mortem.
Justifying the slightly squeamish procedure Stefan Saverimuttu, one of the zoo’s vets said: ‘I think there’s a tremendous intellectual value in it.
Pictured: Health checks being carried out on a Hazel dormice by the DRAHS (Disease Risk Analysis & Health Service) team
Pictured: A CGI image showing how the public would be able to watch live operations on animals
‘I grew up watching Inside Nature’s Giants, where Richard Dawkins did post mortems of giraffes and other animals. There’s nothing to say that would be a negative for the general public.’
According to Mr Saverimuttu most animals love a visit from the vets – specifically the part where they get a treat.
While there is no set date for the facility to open it will also house laboratories for tracking the spread of animal disease.
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) already runs an extensive programme of disease monitoring, both in Britain and abroad.
ZSL’s scientists are currently looking for signs of new disease passing from animals to humans.
‘We know that as landscapes and ecosystems become more stressed, different diseases are exploding and becoming more virulent’, ZSL’s chief executive, Kathryn England told The Times.
‘This investment will allow us to stay on the front foot, to really understand these disease outbreaks before it’s too late to mitigate them.
Pictured: Peppe the penguin having an eye check at London Zoo
‘Fundamentally if we want to protect our own health going forward, we also need to think about wildlife health, and how humans and animals coexist.’
ZSL’s disease monitoring schemes have already helped several animals, including the tiny leaf-green Darwin’s frog.
Scientists launched a rescue mission to the forests of Patagonia in 2024 to save some of the frogs before they all died from the spread of lethal fungus.
While some of them now live in London Zoo the hope is that one day this ‘insurance population’ can return to a fungus-free forest.
