News & Updates

News from our partners at the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust: Wildlife crime history was set in Malawi this week with not one but two unprecedented court rulings - the first ever conviction of an individual dealing in rhino horn and, in a separate case, the first ever policemen to be convicted for wildlife trafficking.

The Pole Pole Foundation (POPOF) team in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been hard at work, supporting the Global Friends Environment Club at Anga Primary School. As a result of the work of the students and the POPOF team in engaging with the local community they have a new member, the community leader himself! Pictured here (right) with the Environment Club, he has thanked them for their invaluable initiatives to educate younger pupils about keeping wildlife in the wild.

“I never thought I would be so lucky! Travelling with mum, revisiting some of the places that hold such special memories for her. Hearing the remarkable Born Free stories that live in her heart, was an extraordinary privilege. I was deeply moved and I believe this film will profoundly touch everyone who sees it.” Will Travers

It is disappointing to see London Zoo downplay a potentially very serious incident. If reports are accurate, Kumbuka made his way through two unlocked doors and entered a keeper area to come face-to-face with one of the keepers. While it is good that some of the more sensationalist media reports have been corrected, the fact remains that this incident was significant and could have ended very differently.

With less than 4,000 tigers remaining globally, facing a myriad of threats in their forest homes, wild tigers need no added pressure. Sadly they face a little known but formidable threat, one which may yet spell their end in the wild: their captive breeding in large commercial enterprises in the infamous tiger ‘farms’ of China and Southeast Asia.

Scientific investigations have concluded that whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) do not fare well in captivity, where the lack of space and complexity causes these intelligent animals to develop anxieties, abnormal behaviours and early mortality. These facts have recently been supported by 21 eminent marine biologists, who have signed a statement stating that science no longer justifies the use of cetaceans for entertainment purposes.

The Born Free Foundation is saddened to learn that a lion has been shot dead at Leipzig Zoo today. Reports indicate that two male lions, who had recently been transferred from Basel Zoo, had actually escaped from their enclosure this morning. It was during attempts to capture them that one of the lions was shot after efforts to tranquillise him, failed.

Protected Area Management Solutions: Interview with Wayne Lotter of PAMS - working to combat elephant poaching: Tell us about your job, your role and responsibilities: I am a founding director of a not-for-profit conservation organization based in Tanzania, which focuses primarily on wildlife protection. We support rangers, communities and governments to better protect wildlife from poachers and other criminals. We also collaborate with other like minded organizations to develop best practices and find solutions to challenges affecting wildlife. My primary strength is with strategy development.

‘These creatures are iconic and very precious. They’re the only ones we’ve got’ - John Cleese Legendary comedian, actor, writer, film producer and passionate conservationist, John Cleese, has sent a stark video message to delegates at the United Nations wildlife trade conference, CITES CoP17, which is taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa:

Regulations just published by the Norwegian government will effectively bring an end to the use of wild animals in circuses in Norway when they are implemented in January 2017. The Born Free Foundation has welcomed the news, which follows a series of false starts, whereby bans were mooted but fell by the wayside.