Animal Welfare: NGO Making A Difference in South Africa

  International Development   PM Network  

As a cub in Romania, Jazz spent most of his time being manhandled by tourists who wanted their picture taken with him. Then, Jazz grew, as lions do.

When he was too big to manage, he was caged on a farm without sufficient nourishment or space to exercise.

But Jazz got another chance with a project launched by Dr. Amir Khalil, international director for project development at Four Paws, a European animal welfare organization.

“We identify animals in need and create a home and habitat for them,” says Fiona Miles, operational director at Four Paws. “We enter into negotiations with the animals’ owners and work with the governments to get the questionable practices outlawed.” One of those animals in need was Jazz.

Dr. Khalil had long seen a lack of safe havens for big cats that are raised in captivity and then outgrow their welcome but are incapable of surviving in the wild.

In 2006, Four Paws started to take action. The organization began scouting locations and eventually settled on a former lion-breeding farm in Bethlehem, South Africa, about three hours from Johannesburg. The project ultimately resulted in Lionsrock, Four Paws’ fourth animal sanctuary, covering 1,242 hectares (about 3,000 acres).

The first phase of the project called for building enclosures for the cats and making infrastructure upgrades. The …

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