Saving Species From Extinction

Black Friday 2015

Saving Species From Extinction

This year, we’re donating 100% of Black Friday proceeds to support one of our favorite non-profits, The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, a British charity established in 1963 by author and conservationist Gerald Durrell. Durrell, a great lover of animals since childhood, founded the trust because he believed that all animals, big and small, are important components to a thriving ecosystem and that all have a right to exist.

The first project was born out of his frustration with the mismanagement and neglect of animals in zoos in the 1940s and early 50s. Gerald opened his own zoo in 1964 on the Island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France. He felt that zoos should primarily act as reserves for critically endangered species that need captive breeding to survive and his vision was that afterward they would be released back into their natural environments.

The zoo grew and flourished and the Trust branched out to projects in other parts of the world, initiatives that included habitat restoration. Gerald worked tirelessly toward the foundation's mission to “save species from extinction” during his life and that ever-important goal has been carried on after his death by his wife, co-author and fellow conservationist Lee Durrell.

Earlier this month, we sat down with Lee to talk about the Trust, Gerald’s vision, and the ways in which humans have impacted wildlife in every corner of the world. Read our interview with Lee Durrell here

 

  

All contributions today will be made through American Friends of Durrell.
To make a direct contribution visit americanfriendsofdurrell.org.

 

To find out more about the trust, the animals they work with, their course offerings, and much more visit durrel.org

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