The Aspinall Foundation (formerly The John Aspinall Foundation) is a British charity (Registered Charity 326567) that promotes wildlife conservation. It was set up by casino owner John Aspinall in 1984 and runs the two zoos he established, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, England. It also runs conservation projects to protect endangered species and return captive animals back to the wild. The current chairman is Damian Aspinall, son of the founder, and his daughter, Freya, is a likely successor.[1]
 | |
| Formation | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Founder | John Aspinall |
| Registration no. | 326567 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose | Wildlife conservation |
| Leader | Damian Aspinall |
| Website | www |
In addition to running the zoos, which breed rare and endangered animals, the Foundation campaigns on wildlife issues, such as opposing Chinese attempts to relax the rules governing the trade in products made from tigers.[2]
The foundation owns approximately 1 million acres in Gabon, into which it reintroduces gorillas.[3]
In 2020, the foundation received £1,500,000 from corporate and private donors.[4]
History
editIn 2002, in Gabon, the foundation was the first to reintroduce captivity-born young gorillas into the wild.[5]
Kwibi, the celebrity gorilla released when five years old in 2005 in Gabon, was born and raised at Howletts Wild Animal Park. Aspinall tracked Kwibi in 2010 and the video of the reunion became widely viewed on YouTube.[6]
In 2006, 5 gorillas that were rehabilitated by the foundation and released into the wild after they were orphaned due to the bushmeat trade and then sold into the illegal pet market were relocated to an island after wandering into nearby villages searching for love.[7]
Since 2008, the foundation has spearheaded conservation efforts to save the critically endangered greater bamboo lemur.[8] The estimated population size of the greater bamboo lemur has risen since 2009 from 100 to 1,000 individuals. As a result of the efforts of the foundation, the greater bamboo lemur was removed from the list of 25 most threatened primates in the world.[9]
The foundation started the Javan Primate Project in 2012 and has since released more than 135 primates including Javan langurs, moloch gibbons and grizzled leaf monkeys[10] into protected sites in Java. The animals are a mix of those rescued from the local illegal pet trade and rewilded from Aspinall's two UK wildlife parks.[11]
In 2013, the foundation launched a programme to breed European wildcats, with plans to create a breeding centre on the island of Càrna, off the west coast of Scotland.[12]
By 2014, according to the foundation, it had "successfully reintroduced more than 50 gorillas back into the wild since 1996".[13]
In October 2019, the foundation – alongside an international team of conservationists – rescued 11 elephants, 4 giraffe, 19 African Buffalo and 29 wildebeest from Blaauwbosch in South Africa's Eastern Cape after a sustained period of drought and neglect at a mismanaged game reserve.[14][15]
In February 2020, the foundation became the first organisation in the world to send captive bred cheetahs from the UK for rewilding in South Africa. Damian Aspinall personally released the two male cheetahs, who were born at Port Lympne, into their new home close to Cape Town.[16]
Controversies
editPayment of £150,158 to wife of chairman
editIn March 2021, the Charity Commission for England and Wales opened a statutory inquiry into the foundation over serious concerns about the charity’s governance and financial management after reports surfaced of possible conflicts of interest and related-party transactions.[17] In November 2021, The Guardian reported that the foundation paid £150,158 to Victoria Aspinall, the wife of chairman Damian Aspinall, as fees for "interior design services".[4] Damian Aspinall was asked to stand down as chairman and trustee in June 2022 over financial irregularities it had discovered during its inquiry, but Aspinall challenged the ruling.[18]
Hiring of Carrie Johnson, lobbying activities
editIn January 2021, the foundation hired Carrie Johnson, wife of Boris Johnson as director of communication months after it asked Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy, for government support to buy a wildlife reserve in South Africa.[19][20]
Effectiveness of sending zoo-born animals into the wild
editTara Stoinski of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund made this comment on the television program 60 Minutes (aired 15 March 2015): "I think that humans have a very romantic notion of what the wild is like, and the wild is not a place where it is safe, and animals get to roam free and make choices". She wonders about the value of sending zoo-born animals to Africa and believes that it would be wiser for Aspinall to use his funds to save gorillas already in the wild.[21][22]
Deaths of gorillas reintroduced into the wild
editSeveral of gorillas introduced into Africa died quickly, possibly due to having been primed to humans and being unable to care for themselves in the wild and attacks by other gorillas.[3][23] One report in 2014 stated that a family of ten zoo-born silverback gorillas were sent to Gabon and at least five were killed, an outcome many had predicted.[3]
In a 2016 interview, chairman Damian Aspinall blamed one gorilla that the doundation had released for killing the five others in 2014. He also criticized the negative publicity about the event stating, "What about the 60 we released that survived? There's no glory if you get it right. We get no press, no publicity – but boy, if anything goes wrong, they jump on you."[24]
Stress to animals from hazardous journeys
editIn February 2022, the foundation announced that 13 elephants, born in captivity, would be returned to Kenya and released into the wild. Some experts questioned the wisdom of this strategy, citing issues such as the stress caused by "a hazardous journey", low temperatures at night in Africa, as well as "unfamiliar surroundings, foraging for food, predators and illness". Some concern was also expressed about water quality and the risk of conflict with the human population. The Foundation replied that it "has a 30-year history of successful rewilding projects around the globe".[25]
References
edit- ^ Smith, Sharon (8 December 2023). "Damian and Freya Aspinall's wild ambitions". Financial Times.
- ^ "The John Aspinall Foundation joins campaign against lifting Chinese ban on tiger parts" (Press release). WebWire. 17 May 2007.
- ^ a b c Stahl, Lesley (15 March 2015). "Back to the Wild". CBS News.
- ^ a b Mason, Rowena (13 November 2021). "Charity that employs Carrie Johnson faces further questions over finances". The Guardian.
- ^ Monaghan, Sarah (1 March 2007). "Saving Gabon's orphan gorillas". BBC News.
- ^ Gorilla Reunion: Damian Aspinall's Extraordinary Gorilla Encounter on Gorilla School – via YouTube.
- ^ "Love-hungry apes move to island". BBC News. 16 November 2006.
- ^ "Aspinall Foundation".
- ^ "Greater bamboo lemur removed from 'most endangered primates' list". Mongabay. 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Last grizzled leaf monkeys in captivity outside of Indonesia returned to the wild". Mongabay. 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Langurs head for Java in coup". KM Media Group. 31 January 2013.
- ^ "Kent Aspinall Foundation sets up wildcat breeding base". BBC News. 23 September 2013.
- ^ "Port Lympne's gorilla Djala and family join wild primates in Gabon". BBC News. 25 June 2014.
- ^ Webster, Ben (22 November 2019). "Damian Aspinall rescues starving elephants from private game reserve in South Africa". The Times.
- ^ "Starving wildlife saved in mammoth rescue operation from private reserve in South Africa". ITV News. 26 November 2019.
- ^ Carpani, Jessica (22 January 2020). "Two cheetahs born in the UK are to be sent to Africa and released in the wild". The Daily Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Charity regulator opens statutory inquiry into the Aspinall Foundation".
- ^ Walters, Simon (28 June 2022). "Head of wildlife charity that employs Carrie Johnson 'asked by Charity Commission to step down'". The Independent.
- ^ Lester, Daisy (31 January 2021). "Carrie Symonds to start job with animal charity in return to work after birth of son". The Independent.
- ^ Forrest, Adam (12 August 2021). "Tory donor who hired Carrie Johnson lobbied government for game reserve money". The Independent.
- ^ "The Horrifying 60 Minutes Story Activists Beg You Not to See". Awesome Ocean. 18 March 2015.
- ^ Stahl, Lesley (15 March 2015). "Back to the Wild". CBS News.
- ^ Chant, Lowri (6 September 2014). "Damian Aspinall's heartbreak as five gorillas raised at Howletts in Bekesbourne near Canterbury and Port Lympne in Hythe are found dead in the wild". KM Media Group.
- ^ "Meet Damian Aspinall, society's Dr Doolittle". Tatler. 14 June 2016.
- ^ "'Ridiculous' plan to rewild 13 elephants from Kent zoo to Africa 'doomed to fail'". Metro. 2 February 2022.