(Reims, France – 23 December 2022) – A black leopard cub rescued from the exotic pet trade in war-torn Ukraine has arrived this morning in a wildlife shelter in France.
The cub, named Kiara, is now six months old and was only a handful of weeks aged when she was surrendered to Wild Animal Rescue Middle, a wildlife rescue business in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The rescue business attained out to IFAW to assist evacuate Kiara and uncover her a extended-expression home. Her rescue journey began at Poznań Zoo in Poland exactly where she stayed for a couple weeks obtaining care and recovering from her lengthy journey from Ukraine. When she was completely ready, designs ended up manufactured for her go to wild animal rescue centre Tonga Terre d’Accueil in France.
“Kiara, at her young age, has previously endured several trials in her lifestyle. Born for the duration of the war and the result of wildlife trafficking, her to start with weeks of existence were being traumatic,” discussed Loïs Lelanchon, Wildlife Rescue Software Manager.
“When Wild Animal Rescue Centre asked us to save this leopard, we committed ourselves to find her a new house, which is now going to be probable thanks to our partner Tonga Terre d’Accueil, who was extremely keen to welcome Kiaria in their rescue centre.”
Tonga Terre d’Accueil is a charity that was designed to assistance the French authorities in addressing the increasing difficulty of wildlife trafficking by delivering a non permanent heart for seized wild animals. The group can take in exploited and abused wildlife, and cares for them while looking for a permanent care facility.
“Considering the fact that the starting of 2022, our shelter has been dealing with an explosion of animals rescued from animal trafficking, specially servals and caracals. People’s trend for maintaining exotic animals as pets has turn into a authentic crisis. It is crucial to put in area regulations that are adequately dissuasive with hefty penalties,” explained Pierre Thivillon, Founder and President of Tonga Terre d’Accueil.
“Wildlife trafficking is exacerbated by social networks that aid the sale and encourage the possession of unique animals, showering web users with illustrations or photos of wild animals, much employed to achieve likes and followers. Even so, a wild animal has no area on a sofa or in a bedroom: it is forbidden, dangerous and incompatible with its effectively-getting.” mentioned Jean-Christophe Gérard, veterinarian and vice president of Tonga Terre d’Accueil.
Kiara produced the journey from Poland to France in a light-weight motor vehicle suited for transporting animals. Soon after travelling for 1,500kms over 15 hrs (like stops) she has now arrived safely and securely in her new home. She will stay in care at Tonga Terre d’Accueil until finally she’s ready to be put at a facility that will make sure she has a secure position to dwell out her many years.
Given that the commencing of the war, IFAW has assisted many of wild animals from Ukraine by furnishing unexpected emergency help, procuring animal food, these kinds of as baby cat milk formula, and functioning with associates to aid evacuations, when possible.
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About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) – IFAW is a world-wide non-gain aiding animal and men and women thrive with each other. We are gurus and everyday individuals, doing work across seas, oceans and in a lot more than 40 international locations all over the world. We rescue, rehabilitate and release animals, and we restore and protect their purely natural habitats. The difficulties we’re up against are urgent and complex. To address them, we match fresh new thinking with bold action. We spouse with community communities, governments, non-governmental corporations and organizations. Together, we pioneer new and ground breaking methods to assistance all species prosper. See how at ifaw.org.
About Tonga Terre D’Accueil – The charity was established in 2008 by the Espace Zoologique de Saint-Martin-la-Plaine (Loire) with the aim of supporting the authorities in using in wild animals. The refuge, which is not open up to the community, has been outlined as a short-term shelter for primates and felines in specific. These animals may possibly have been seized by the authorities from men and women or circuses for illegal detention or abuse. Animals may also be voluntarily surrendered by circuses or laboratories. After getting socialised the animals in groups or pairs, we request to put them in zoos, which have the room and the vital authorizations to accommodate these animals, or in sanctuaries elsewhere in the planet.
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