The Wild Dog Sanctuary Needs Your Help On Another Project

[Mark Hardy]

Hi

Sanwild, our designated Wild Dogs project needs you rhelp desperately on another issue and I am thinking that there has to be a Wild Dogger or Doggette (and no its not meant in a rude way) that can throw together a fundraiser for this....come on, lets be honest, I can direct you to a good venue with some bands thrown in and all you need to do is arrange from there !

Even if you stipulate that 50% of the money you raise must go to the wild dogs that we have named and which are our mascots, you can still pull something together here.....

I'll help wherever I can!

The SanWild lions desperately need your help.

Since 2003 SanWild has been home to 21 confiscated lions.  Although the reserve does not have sufficient land to release all the lions to live wild and free, we are in a position to release a small pride to live naturally and at the moment we are busy upgrading our perimeter fences.  We trust that this project will be completed early in 2008 by which time we will be able to set Queen and her cubs free in the 6000 hectare protected wildlife reserve.

We have also signed a foster-parent contract with another reserve in South Africa's Gauteng Province and Jespha's pride will be relocated to their new home as soon as the conservation departments have inspected the camps and the permits to relocate Jespha, Nikana, Rongo and Aroha has been approved.  The pride will be moved into a large 1000 hectare secure area on a larger piece of land and even natural prey species will be available in this large 1000 hectare area for the lions to perfect their hunting skills should they choose to do so.  If not, food will still be supplied to them on a regular basis.  Although we are pretty sad to let them go, we have made this decision in the best interest of the lions themselves and also to bring down our monthly costs of feeding the lions.  Ownership of Jespha's pride will remain with our Trust and should the lions not be treated in strict accordance of the legally binding contract between the Trust and the foster parents, the lions will be returned to SanWild immediately. 

However to ensure the lions well being in the interim, the respective prides are living in large natural habitat enclosures.  They are fed every fourth â?? fifth day with meat purchased from adjoining cattle farmers.  Purchasing meat from a local abattoir simply became too expensive and the SanWild Wildlife Trust has found it increasingly more difficult to cope with the escalating meat prices. 

Fortunately some of the local cattle farmers offered to assist the Trust by supplying meat at a much more competitive price.  However caring for and ensuring that adequate food is available for the lions, remains a financially difficult task.  Feeding the lions remains SanWild single most expensive expense and we need to once again urgently need to appeal for your financial assistance to help us raise the $6000 necessary to feed the SanWild Lions for the next month.

We would like to ask for your urgent help to purchase food for the lions. 

We would appreciate all donations, big or small.  To motivate individuals or corporate to contribute urgently to our appeal we are offering a weeks accommodation for two people in our Savannah Camp. By contributing to this appeal, you will stand the chance of having your name drawn from a list of donors.  The closing date for the competition is 30 September 2007.

The winner will win a week's free accommodation in Savannah camp for the remainder of 2007 up to end of December 2008.  Inclusive of all meals, drinks, game drives, walking trails and accommodation. To view facilities please visit the SanWild website www.sanwild.org and find Savannah Camp on the main page.  Organisations and corporate can nominate two individuals should they win the prize.

All on-line donations are eligible for the draw and the only competition rule is that the full $6000.00 must be raised by the competition closing date.  Donations can be made directly into our trust account or via Afritrust on-line donation facility. www.afritrust.com  Go to the Adopt/Donate Page and use the drop-down box to find Feed the SanWild Lions.  You can donate any amount of your choice.  Our banking details are found on the SanWild website www.sanwild.org How you can Help.

For more information please email us on sanwild@pixie.co.za or phone us on +27 (0) 15-3187900/1
 
Kind and warm regards
Louise Joubert
 

[Goose]

  Right ... I have one ex-wife available... where do I deliver!!! 

[Extreme Velcro]

I'm so tempted to ask if she tastes good, but that will get me banned by the moderators......

[Goose]

I'm so tempted to ask if she tastes good, but that will get me banned by the moderators......

  Good one... and if I answered my (new) wife will moer me!!! 

[KiLRoy]

I think its time for a visit to SanWild - are there any good-hearted people in Gauteng, or are they all in CT and Knysna?

Who will organise a ride out to SanWild (bring your wallets too) and maybe act as local liason between us and Louise at SanWild?

Dates

H

[Extreme Velcro]

I know that there were some plans afoot to do an overnight stay but it is geared ofr oeverseas pockets and Louise understands that for a casual overnight stay it is out of most of our pockets.  She did mention that there are some great camping sites in the vicinty and that she would be happy then to arrange for day trippers and game visits etc.

I obviously as a Kapie with no knowledge of the area, haven't a clue wha tto recommend as a site in the area.  Tsaneen Tourism Centre apparently would be able to help further on this issue.

I think also it needs to be done on a more official sort of level.  Maybe something along the lines of...

Hi Louise

As you are aware, we have made you and your wild dogs in particular our official charity.  We are planning a trip and thank you, yes, will speak to Tzaneen Tourism info centre about camping sites relatively close by, but if we do pitch for a day trip with 20 or so people, what are our options?

I know that this has been tentatively explored by one or two of our members, but we are now very keen to make this happen.  Further to that, to ensure that we help in the best way, can we help arrange fundraisers, how would you like us to disseminate information, can we help with arranging a raffle etc. and possibly can we discuss those ideas with you to see how we can further the good work you do?

I am sure she will really respond well to a mail like this and I will certainly, as mentioned before, find time to organise a fundraiser down here in Cape Town and help you with a venue in Johannesburg should anybody wish to takcle this....

Thanks

EV

[David van Breda]

I know I risk being taken apart here, but I have my own take on this!

First of all, how/why do you "confiscate" a lion in the first place?  In my honest opinion it is almost always for the confiscaters benefit; I wild animal, especially a lion has zero gain if he is in captivity!  So " . . . to ensure the lions well-being . . . " is more or less BS to me! 

If he was destined to die, let the bugger die.  It is sad, but hey look, there's another one and it is alive and in the wilderness!  Intervention with a socially complex species like a lion is not on!

I had the horrific experience the other day to be treated by my well-meaning host to visit some or the other lion sanctuary near Fourways.  I just could not take it.  They had lion, hyena and cheetah in small little camps and it was just sad.  Boasting about the survival rate of young cubs born in captivity made me even more nauseous!

But that's just me . . .

[Extreme Velcro]

Please take note that there is a difference between a lion sanctuary that takes animasl from the canned hunting industry and one that breeds lions for canned hunting and these animals have been confiscated from a canned facility.

Too many animals that are bred particularly for canned hunting are imprinted by humans - once that is done, it is practically impossible for them to be set free in the wild again without some kind of supervision by humans. 

Yes we can kill them all, but our objective is to at least give some lions a chance of living out a vaguely natural life as best as we can; after all most of them were born just to satisfy someone's greed and are now discarded to people like Louise who do the best that they can to at least help some to live.

Oh stuff it - its too complicated to get into on the forum - go to www.cannedlion.org to find out more and if you are in Cape Town, I am organising a ride out to another Cape Town Sanctuary where you can learn more about why we do what we do so that we don't have to take the tack hey, lets just kill them or let them be killed because we screwed up and now the lions are inconvenient for us.

[David van Breda]

Ja EVelcro,

I know it is a rather complex subject.  I might be in CT sometime soon.  Might just rent a bike and join you guys!

[Extreme Velcro]

Taht would be fabulous !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!