"Our commitment is to conservation, through captive breeding, education, and reintroduction"
About The Aspinall Foundation
John Aspinall started his famous animal collection in 1957 when he bought Howletts Wild Animal Park. In 1973 he bought Port Lympne Wild Animal Park to help house the growing groups of animals. Today the two wild animal parks are home to over 1000 animals and 100 different species. The Aspinall Foundation, is the registered charity set up to work with the wild animal parks in Kent who are responsible for the reintroduction and ongoing mangement in the wild of animals that have been born in Kent. To date The Aspinall Foundation have reintroduced western lowland gorilla, black rhino and przewalski horses born in Kent back into the wild.
- The Aspinall Foundation manages two gorilla rescue and rehabilitation projects in central African countries of Gabon and Congo, where we have successfully reintroduced over 50 gorillas.
- Since 2007 the charity has been working in Madagascar protecting the greater bamboo lemur and our work to track this elusive animal has resulted in the discovery that where it was once believed that there was only a population in the wild of 60, we know now there to be over 200 including 21 births since we have been working there.
- In 2010 after many years of planning the charity opened a primate rescue and rehabilitation centre in Java where we have already rescued Javan langurs and gibbons.
Our Mission
- To halt the extinction of rare and endangered species in the wild
- To continue to provide the most natural environment possible for the animals in both parks
- To re-introduce these animals back to their wild habitat where this is possible
- To continue to be world leaders in animal husbandry and breeding
- To be a partner and catalyst to conservation efforts at home and abroad
- Increasing public understanding of animals and their welfare and the issues involved in their conservation
- To manage wilderness areas
- To develop sustainable conservation-minded activities which provide economic benefits on a local and national scale.
In this video below used at a fundraising ball for The Aspinall Foundation, a world leading conversation charity, Prince Charles commends the important conversation work carried out by the charity.
