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54-522: The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation , which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect

108-606: A 2008 status report of the DR of Congo, the park had 125 lowland gorillas, a marked reduction from the figure of 600 gorillas of the pre-1990's conflict period, and consequently the species has been listed in the endangered list. The park is the last refuge of this rare species. According to the census survey of eastern lowland gorillas reported by the Wildlife Conservation Society in April 2011, at least 181 gorillas were recorded in

162-733: A beast wagon at Cross Brothers Circus in Kent, England, to 15-acre forest sanctuary in Bangalore, India. In 1989, the Foundation (then known as Zoo Check) was commissioned by the European Union to undertake the first comprehensive census of European Zoos. Subsequent work led to the EU Zoos Directive which, today, requires all EU zoos to be licensed by the relevant national authority. In the same year, campaigning by Zoo Check, together with others, led to

216-576: A complaint made to the UK Charity Commission, community leaders further state that "Born Free Foundation's assertions that trophy hunting doesn't support local communities or conservation are "demonstrably false" and "misleading."" Born Free fully cooperated with the Charity Commission's request for additional information and provided evidence to support its campaigning material. This included: specific publications and peer-reviewed reports on

270-440: A full-time and centralised independent zoo inspectorate to ensure consistency in licensing and inspection of zoos. 3. When considering planning applications for development of zoos and similar facilities, introduction of a mechanism to assess whether the animals’ welfare is likely to comply with existing animal-keeping legislation and standards before permission to build is granted. However, the two zoo associations’ stated position

324-546: A number of progressive legislative measures either being approved or proposed, including: In June 2021, the Community Leaders' Network that represents millions of rural Africans in six nations accused the Born Free Foundation "of waging a campaign of disinformation against trophy hunting that will damage African conservation activities, and undermine their human rights and livelihoods" in a press release. Focusing on

378-456: A previously unreported population of rare lions in Sudan. In 2019, a Born Free trophy hunting campaign included a major report, Downing Street rally, 246,000-signature petition and award-winning Bitter Bond canned hunting animation, which has been watched by over 10 million online. A new film Creature Discomforts created with Aardman Animations in 2020 used people's experiences in lockdown to highlight

432-449: A public art exhibition in Nairobi entitled Pride of Kenya, the Foundation began assisting local Masai communities better protect their livestock from predation at night by designing and installing Predator Proof Bomas (night-time stockades) which reduce the threat of predation and subsequent revenge attacks against lions and hyenas by local pastoralists. Approximately 75% of the cost of each PPB

486-554: A report on UK zoo animal welfare that "groundlessly conflates the keeping of animals at zoos with the exotic pet trade and travelling circuses". Within the press release, however, BIAZA and EAZA, stated that they would generally welcome three of the five principal demands identified in the Born Free Foundation's 'Beyond the Bars' campaign were legislation to introduce such changes: 1. Publication and independent review of summary statistics on causes of deaths of animals in zoos; 2. Establishment of

540-457: A subset of a population often results in compensatory increases in reproductive success among untreated individuals. Translocation to lower-abundance habitats was also not successful because the translocated individuals often died, negating any "compassionate" benefits of the approach. Kahuzi-Biega National Park The Kahuzi-Biega National Park ( Swahili : Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Kahuzi-Biega , French : Parc national de Kahuzi-Biega )

594-521: A variety of wildlife trade and exploitation issues can be found here: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/wildlife-trade Compassionate conservation Compassionate conservationists argue that the conservation movement uses the preservation of species, populations and ecosystems as a measure of success, without explicit concern given to the welfare and intrinsic value of individual animals. They argue instead, that compassion for all sentient beings should be what guides conservation actions and claim that

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648-589: Is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo . It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border. Established in 1970 by the Belgian photographer and conservationist Adrien Deschryver , the park is named after two dormant volcanoes, Mount Kahuzi and Mount Biega , which are within its limits. With an area of 6,000 square kilometres (2,300 sq mi), Kahuzi-Biega

702-663: Is also a hotspot of plants and vertebrate endemism for. The park's swamps, bogs, marshland and riparian forests on hydromorphic ground at all altitudes are rare worldwide. The western lowland sector of the park is dominated by dense Guineo-Congolian wet equatorial rainforest , part of the Northeastern Congolian lowland forests ecoregion, with an area of transition forest between 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). The eastern mountainous sector includes continuous forest vegetation from 600 metres (2,000 ft) to over 2,600 metres (8,500 ft), and

756-558: Is now more than 90%. An extensive lion conservation project was established in Meru National Park in Kenya in 2014, where Elsa the lioness was returned to the wild. From 2010 to 2020, Kenya's lion numbers increased by 25% to 2,500. In 2017 the Born Free Foundation was criticised by The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums for

810-473: Is one of the biggest national parks in the country. Set in both mountainous and lowland terrain, it is one of the last refuges of the rare species of Eastern lowland gorilla ( Gorilla beringei graueri ), an endangered category under the IUCN Red List . The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site , inscribed in 1980 for its unique biodiversity of rainforest habitat and its eastern lowland gorillas. In 1997, it

864-697: Is one of the rare sites in Sub-Saharan Africa which demonstrates all stages of the low to highland transition, including six distinguishable primary vegetation types: swamp and peat bog , swamp forest , high-altitude rainforest, mountain rainforest, bamboo forest and subalpine heather . The montane rain forests are part of the Albertine Rift montane forests ecoregion. Mountain and swamp forest grows between 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and 2,400 metres (7,900 ft), bamboo forest grows between 2,350 metres (7,710 ft) and 2,600 metres (8,500 ft), and

918-772: Is proposed as an alternative to lethal methods such as shooting or baiting. However, research has not found TNR to be an effective means of controlling feral cat populations. Similarly, the use of wildlife contraceptives has been proposed as a non-lethal method for managing overpopulation in native wildlife species. However, attempts to apply this approach—such as the control of overabundant Koala populations on Kangaroo Island in South Australia—have not been successful due to logistical and cost-effectiveness barriers. Alternative compassionate approaches such as wildlife fertility control were also unsuccessful. As with trap–neuter–return programs, nonlethal reproductive management of

972-540: Is provided by the foundation with the balance coming from the community. So far, more than 350 PPBs have been installed at a total cost of circa $ US1 million and night-time predation in PPBs is negligible. Born Free helped establish the Zambia Primate Project in 2012 to rescue and successfully return to the wild hundreds of baboons and vervets, victims of the illegal wildlife trade. The verified post-release survival rate

1026-519: The Lualaba River . Two dormant volcanoes are set within the park's limits and lend their names to it: Kahuzi (3,308 m (10,853 ft)) and Biéga (2,790 m (9,150 ft)). The park receives an average annual precipitation of 1,800 mm (71 in). The average maximum temperature in the area is 18 °C (64 °F) while the minimum is 10.4 °C (50.7 °F). The earliest reserve, Zoological and Forest Reserve of Mount Kahuzi,

1080-623: The Rockefeller's sunbird ( Nectarinia rockefelleri ). The species of fauna listed under the IUCN Red List as threatened include: The species of fauna listed under the IUCN Red List as least concern or near threatened include: A 2020 survey of the freshwater fish in the park and its three drainage basins identified 147 species, 11 of which were found to be endemic to the Lowa River basin, and 7 of which were previously undescribed. Cyprinidae

1134-423: The killing of animals in the name of conservation goals is unnecessary, as these same objectives can be achieved without killing. Compassionate conservation has been a subject of criticism by some conservationists, who consider the discipline to be harmful to the goals of conservation. The international wildlife charity Born Free Foundation , which advocates for the well-being of individual wild animals, used

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1188-788: The Americas. It focuses on a number of working priorities: captive wild animal exploitation; trophy and canned hunting; wildlife trade; rescue, care, rehabilitation & release; community support and human-wildlife co-existence; compassionate conservation; UK wildlife protection; policy development and advocacy; and education. It also operates its own sanctuaries: two big cat rescue centres at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, in South Africa, Ensessa Kotteh Wildlife Rescue, Conservation & Education Centre, in Ethiopia, and Bannerghatta tiger sanctuary, in India. With

1242-625: The BBC TV series Echo of the Elephants. Support continues. In 1993 the Zoochotic Report investigation by Bill Travers, backed by animal psychologist Roger Mugford, catalogued widespread, severely abnormal animal behaviour in zoos across Europe. Long-term support for Orcalab's work to monitor wild orca in Canada began in 1994, the world's longest running study of wild cetaceans, support for which continues to

1296-634: The Congo Basin: the aquatic genet and the giant forest genet . Of the 349 bird species identified within the park, at least 42 of them are endemic to the region, including the threatened Albertine owlet . Other native bird species include the Yellow-crested Helmet-shrike ( Prionops alberti ), the Congo peafowl ( Afropavo congensis ), the African green broadbill ( Pseudocalyptomena graueri ), and

1350-673: The Global Friends education initiative was launched, providing resources to schools and communities in Africa and Asia, adjacent to the Foundation's wildlife projects. The Satpuda Landscape Tiger Partnership was launched in 2004 to protect wild tigers in India, and support also began for the Last Great Ape Organisation, which tackles illegal wildlife trade and which, today, has expanded to become EAGLE (Eco-Activists for Governance and Law Enforcement). Born Free provided help to develop

1404-858: The Lilongwe Wildlife Trust in Malawi in 2007 which rescues injured and confiscated wild animals, transitioning an old zoo into a genuine sanctuary. In 2010, two captive bottlenose dolphins, rescued from a Turkish swimming pool, were returned to the wild in 2012 after months of rehabilitation. The 2010 the Keeping Whales and Dolphins in Captivity in the EU report, published in partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation, revealed that many dolphinariums failed to meet minimal EU legal standards. Also in 2010, following

1458-563: The Sunday Mirror, an ongoing campaign was launched to ban wild animals in circuses, which contributed to this activity being banned in Scotland in 2017, and England and Wales in 2020. In 1986 an investigation into the mental state of polar bears in UK zoos reported that 80% were behaving abnormally, leading to 'Zoos Driving Bears Mad' headlines in the media. In 1987, six rescued tigers were relocated from

1512-575: The Zoological Society agreed to move Pole Pole to Whipsnade Zoo, but following complications that occurred as part of the aborted relocation process, Pole Pole was examined under anaesthetic and, being unresponsive, was put down in the Elephant House. Her death so deeply affected McKenna and Travers that in 1984 they launched a not-for-profit called Zoo Check with their eldest son Will Travers , supported by Founder Patron Joanna Lumley . Zoo Check

1566-646: The approval of an international ivory trade ban. Ongoing work by the Foundation throughout the 1990s and up to the present day, as a member of the Species Survival Network (a coalition of wildlife organisations established with Born Free's help in 1993 which works within the United Nation's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species framework to reduce the negative impact of international wildlife trade), has sought to prevent efforts to weaken

1620-460: The charity and its Trustees had demonstrated how the charity's campaigns and materials relate directly to all of its objects, and that the Trustees are assured of the accuracy of the material used for the charity's trophy hunting campaign. As a result, the Charity Commission have closed the complaint. Born Free works with a number of corporate sponsors and partners – current partnerships can be found on

1674-699: The charity's values. Born Free's head office is located in Horsham , West Sussex , in south east England . It also has offices in Kenya , Ethiopia and South Africa , with representatives in Sri Lanka and Australia . Born Free USA is a separate organisation based in the United States which adheres to the same objectives as the Foundation. In the year to 31 March 2021, the charity reported income of £5.9m. In 1969 , actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers , who starred in

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1728-535: The communities living around the park and employment of the Twa people to enforce park protection was pursued by the park authorities. In 1999, a plan was developed to protect the people and the resources of the park. In a survey conducted between 2015 and 2016, the national park rangers reported a low level of satisfaction with the job, highlighting low salaries, lack of support from the authorities, and poor living conditions. Illegal artisanal mining of Coltan happens in

1782-422: The eastern lowland gorillas, Gorilla beringei graueri . The park has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. As of a survey conducted in 2003 by the Wildlife Conservation Society , it protects roughly 349 species of birds and 136 species of mammals. Over 1,178 plant species have been observed in the highland regions of the park alone. Because of its varied topography and habitat types, Kahuzi-Biega National Park

1836-563: The exotic pet and bushmeat trade. Long-term support for eastern lowland gorilla conservation began in 1999 in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo, support which continues to date. Born Free Kenya was launched in 2002 to support Kenyan projects, including conservation, antipoaching patrols, snare removal, wildlife law-enforcementl, community work and human/wildlife conflict resolution (HWC). In 2003

1890-490: The film Born Free , made the film An Elephant Called Slowly . This featured an elephant calf called Pole Pole who was given to London Zoo by the Kenyan government of the day when filming finished. In 1982, McKenna and Travers went to visit Pole Pole at London Zoo. After seeing her condition and mental distress, they launched a campaign to have Pole Pole moved to somewhere more suitable, with other elephants for company. In 1983,

1944-608: The global ban and to help bring in domestic ivory trade control measures in its support. In 1992, the Foundation enabled three of the UK's last captive dolphins to be successfully returned to the wild in the Caribbean, while tighter UK standards (following a 1988 survey) lead to end of dolphinariums in the UK in 1993. In 1992 Born Free began to support the world's longest running wild elephant study by Cynthia Moss and her team in Amboseli National Park, Kenya; made world-famous in

1998-567: The input of more than 18,000 experts; and reports by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Born Free also confirmed to the Charity Commission how its trophy hunting campaign and associated materials related directly to all of its charitable objects. The Charity Commission concluded that they were satisfied that

2052-496: The issue of trophy hunting written by economists, conservationists, ecologists, psychologists and animal welfare experts; briefing papers from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations of which Born Free is a member organisation, and which harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and

2106-478: The larger part is in lowland terrain. A corridor of 7.4 km (4.6 mi) width joins the mountainous and lowland terrain. The eastern part of the park is the smaller mountainous region measuring 600 km (230 sq mi); the larger part measures 5,400 km (2,100 sq mi) and consists mainly of lowland stretching from Bukavu to Kisangani , drained by the Luka and Lugulu rivers which flow into

2160-539: The park, thus damaging the deep forest cover. In 2019, national park rangers allegedly engaged in violence against Batwa who returned to the park in 2018. This included the alleged killing of a number of residents, the burning of villages, as well as the use of sexual violence against indigenous residents. In 2022, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled that the Democratic Republic of

2214-417: The park. Other primates include the eastern chimpanzee , and several Cercopithecinae , Colobinae and owl-faced monkey . Some of the mammals include the bush elephant, bush buffalo, hylochere and bongo , eastern needle-clawed galago , Maclaud's horseshoe bat , Ruwenzori least otter shrew , and Alexander's bush squirrel . Two species of genet (animal) that live within the park are endemic to

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2268-505: The phrase "compassionate conservation" as the name for a Oxford-based symposium it hosted in 2010. The Centre for Compassionate Conservation was created, in 2013, at the University of Technology, Sydney . Ignoring Nature No More: The Case for Compassionate Conservation , a collection of essays edited by compassionate conservation advocate Marc Bekoff , was published in the same year. In the years since, further conferences have been held on

2322-453: The plight of wild animals in zoos, circuses and dolphinariums. In 2021 another film Protect Them, Protect Us, narrated by Joanna Lumley , called for end to wildlife markets to help address the spread of zoonotic diseases and reduce the risk of future global pandemics. Policy work by the Foundation, reflecting growing concerns amongst the British public and more widely, have assisted in securing

2376-655: The present day. Born Free partnered with the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme within the University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) in 1995, a major ongoing initiative to protect the world's rarest canid. Individual wild animal rescues continue, with a total of 50 lions, 19 tigers and 12 leopards rehomed in global sanctuaries. In 1998 Born Free helped create a chimpanzee sanctuary on 100 acres of rainforest on Ngamba Island, Uganda, to rehouse dozens of orphan chimps rescued from

2430-424: The summits of Mounts Kahuzi and Biéga above 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) have subalpine heather, dry savannah, and grasslands, as well as the endemic plant Senecio kahuzicus . The national park protects a greater diversity of mammal species than any other national park in the Albertine Rift . Among the 136 species of mammals identified in the park, the eastern lowland gorilla is the most prominent. According to

2484-471: The support of the public, the Foundation has invested heavily in conservation activities such as lion conservation in Kenya, tiger conservation in India, the protection of the world's most endangered canid, the Ethiopian wolf, as well as elephant, giraffe and rhino conservation, amongst other conservation activities. In 1985 following a Zoo Check investigation into conditions at Blackpool Tower Circus, exposed in

2538-464: The topic and advocates have published multiple articles in conservation journals. Compassionate conservation has been called "seriously flawed" by certain conservationists, who argue that its implementation is impractical and could lead to negative outcomes for wildlife, ecosystems, humans, and native biodiversity. Others argue that the "do no harm" approach goes "too far" and that put into practice, it would not necessarily lead to positive outcomes for

2592-882: The website here https://www.bornfree.org.uk/partnerships-and-coalitions . Born Free designated 2022, The Year of The Lion, in memory of its founder, Bill Travers, with the launch of a public art display entitled 'Born Free Forever' featuring 21 life-size lion bronze sculptures created by the Australian artists Gillie and Marc . The exhibition is located for the first three months of the year at Millennium Green, Waterloo, London. Subsequently, it traveled to Newcastle, SW England and Edinburgh for three-month periods. The conservation projects Born Free supports or operates are: The wildlife rescue and care projects Born Free supports or operates are: Born Free's educational resources and details of its education programmes can be found here: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/education Born Free's position on

2646-485: The welfare of individual animals. Andrea S. Griffin et al. argue that compassionate conservation's focus on empathy "is subject to significant biases and that inflexible adherence to moral rules can result in a 'do nothing' approach". Several conservation management approaches supported by compassionate conservation as an alternative to lethal control have been scrutinised experimentally or observationally. For example, trap–neuter–return management of feral cat populations

2700-479: Was by far the largest family represented. The park, under the management of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature , has a basic management and surveillance structure. However, the park's 1975 expansion, which included inhabited lowland areas, resulted in forced evacuations with about 13,000 people of the tribal community of Shi, Tembo and Rega affected and refusing to leave. Cooperation by

2754-538: Was created on 27 July 1937 by the then Governor General of the Belgian Colonial administration. That reserve has been part of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park since November 1970. Five years later, the park was extended to cover 6000 km2. The park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, under Criterion (x) for its unique habitat of rainforest and diversity of the mammal species, particularly

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2808-742: Was listed on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the political instability of the region, an influx of refugees, and increasing wildlife exploitation. [REDACTED] The park lies west of the Bukavu town in South Kivu Province , covering an area of 6,000 km (2,300 sq mi). A small part of the park is in Mitumba Mountain range of the Albertine Rift in the Great Rift Valley , and

2862-571: Was renamed the Born Free Foundation in 1991. The foundation is served by a board of trustees, of which McKenna is currently a member. Will Travers is the charity's executive president, the president of the Species Survival Network (see below), a board member of Born Free USA, a board member of Ecoflix (a natural history online streaming infotainment service) and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society Born Free manages or funds projects in more than 20 in Africa, Asia, Europe and

2916-474: Was to continue to permit the pinioning birds (mutilation to prevent flight), and to continue keeping and breeding elephants in captivity. This included the admission that they would still allow member zoos to import elephants which have been captured and taken from the wild, and for zoos to use an ankus (bullhook – sticks with curved, pointed, usually metal tips) for elephant management. In 2018, with Born Free support, an Oxford University WildCRU expedition located

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