The story of our Foundation starts with 13 lions, rehomed from poor conditions from a run-down zoo in Romania, a project for which every penny was raised by Yorkshire Wildlife Park and its supporters.
The award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Wildlife Foundation are once again working hard to save four war-traumatised Ukrainian lions and give them a new home in the UK. The Park has offered a new home for mum Aysa and her three ten-month-old cubs, Emi, Santa and Teddi, at their Lion Country.
Since Lion Recue 2 was announced by Yorkshire Wildlife Park, we’ve been overwhelmed with offers from people wanting to support the project, which is why we have launched this fundraising appeal to support this rescue, as well as others in the future.
The lions were abandoned in a private zoo in the Donetsk region as Russian invaders poured into Ukraine and they suffered alone, malnourished and surrounded by fighting and explosions before being taken to Poland, to a temporary sanctuary.
But they need to be moved to a proper permanent home as soon as possible.
Funds raised will be used to support Yorkshire Wildlife Park by helping with the Ukrainian lions’ veterinary care, transporting them to the UK and supporting future emergency animal rescues from Ukraine and other disaster areas.
The Wildlife Foundation, which is based at the 175-acre park, helped fund the successful rescue of 13 lions from Romania in 2010. Trustee Cheryl Williams said, “These gorgeous lions cannot stay in Poland and need a permanent home. We must not forget that animals are often the forgotten victims of war, with them suffering long-term consequences from trauma and requiring specialist care and rehabilitation which can be provided at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
“We want to offer them a fresh beginning within the park, we appreciate that times are tough, but we hope that the public will support us in the same way they did back in 2010 and hopefully raise funds and awareness to help other animals in this situation.”
Donate via our appeal page below.
all funds will be directed towards this emergency appeal.