Lord Swraj Paul conferred with London Zoo's highest honour

Leading NRI entrepreneur and UK parliamentarian Lord Swraj Paul was conferred with the London Zoo's highest honour in recognition of his support for the institution.

Lord Paul, founder chairman of the Caparo Group, donated 1 million pounds in 1993 to prevent the zoo from closure owing to financial constraints. Subsequently, he made several other donations for various projects of the zoo.

The British-Indian entrepreneur received the prestigious Zoological Society of London's Honorary Fellowship for 2019 on Tuesday, joining a select band of distinguished personalities such as Price Philip, former Japan Emperor Akihito and veteran Sir David Attenborough who were similarly honoured in 1977, 1991 and 1998 respectively.

The citation read out at the award ceremony said, "For the last 30 years, Lord Paul's support has been key in enabling ZSL and our Zoos to inspire, empower and inform people about wildlife and conservation. Through the Ambika Paul Foundation, ZSL has received a number of transformational gifts towards projects at ZSL London Zoo."