LONDON, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Aspinall Foundation ("TAF") in conjunction with Wild911, an American NGO, having been made aware of the plight of a large number of animals within a hunting reserve in South Africa and has stepped in to save the animals. The 11 elephants, 24 giraffes, buffalos and wildebeest were discovered at a private reserve in the Eastern Cape region of the country in terrible condition. The animals had been left in an overstocked fenced area without water during a sustained period of drought. The size of this rescue is huge and one that has rarely been seen or attempted in the past.
Having been made aware of the problem TAF together with Wild911 who help capture and relocate elephants and rhinos from dangerous or unsuitable areas to safe and sustainable reserves, have immediately stepped in to find alternative homes for these animals, organise emergency veterinary care, food and transport to alternative reserves, where they can be relocated to well protected and well supplied reserves in the region.
This rescue follows the successful relocation of a bull elephant in October of this year when conditions forced one elephant to leave looking for water and wander the neighbouring farms, causing a hunting permit to be issued by local authorities. TAF and Wild911 stepped in, overturned the permit and the elephant 'Harry' was relocated to the safety of Mount Camdeboo Private Reserve.
Despite the obvious threat to these animals the owner today tried to enforce an injunction against the team to stop the rescue taking place. That has been successfully defeated and TAF and Wild911 will today commence the mammoth task of relocating these at-risk animals.
The TAF team on the ground is being led by Dereck Milburn who is TAF's Southern Africa Director. Dereck commented "There are unfortunately too many animals in this situation in South Africa that require the intervention of organisations such as ours and Wild911. It is rare however that so many animals require assistance in one go and in one place and the logistics of finding them all new homes and then successfully transporting them is a real challenge. Some of the animals are already in a very poor condition but we will do our best to save as many of them possible and give them a new life in a suitable environment."
Wild911's Chris Holcroft added "It's a simple matter of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to help those that can't ask for help but badly need it."
Damian Aspinall Chairman of TAF commented "Having been told of the plight of these animals I was in no doubt that we had to try our best to help them. We have committed considerable funds to making this happen and we will do everything in our power to save these animals and provide them with a better life in the wild. We are grateful to the local authorities and courts in Gordonstown in supporting our mission and we look forward to a successful rescue."
TAF will be providing regular updates over the course of the coming days through further press releases and its social media channels as the moves get underway. In addition, TAF will be launching an appeal page where our supporters can contribute to this rescue mission and help to fund the work and assist in saving these animals.
For further information and updates on the elephant's translocation please follow The Aspinall Foundation's social media accounts and visit www.aspinallfoundation.org
Editor's Notes
The Aspinall Foundation manages conservation projects in Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Madagascar and Southern Africa, as well as providing financial support to various partner projects around the world. The conservation charity's important work helps prevent some of the most endangered species on the planet from becoming extinct.
The Aspinall Foundation owns two wildlife parks in Kent - Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve and Howletts Wild Animal Park. The parks are breeding sanctuaries for some of the world's most endangered species. Where possible, animals born at the parks are released into protected areas of their natural habitat, as part of The Aspinall Foundation's Back To The Wild programme.
The Aspinall Foundation's Kent based wildlife parks are some of the most successful breeders of captive endangered animals in the world. With unrivalled achievements in husbandry, the conservation charity boasts 146 gorilla births, 41 black rhino, 126 clouded leopards, 38 Javan gibbons, 172 Javan langur and 21 African elephants.
Wild911 by Chris Holcroft in an effort to create a vehicle to save and relocate at risk elephants and rhinos. They aim to bring together elite specialists with a shared goal of moving animals to safety, satisfying animal management problems for government, NGOs, landowners and the public. Find them on Instagram - @Chrisholcroft_imagery
Mount Camdeboo Private Reserve is a 14.5-thousand-hectare wild animal reserve.
The full team included members from The Aspinall Foundation, Wild911, Mount Camdeboo Private Reserve, SPCA, Conservation Solutions, Buffalo Kloof, Ikhala, the local community and Dr William Fowlds.
Copyright © 2019 The Aspinall Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
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