Volunteering at CCF – Dr Jane Galton, Chair CCF UK

Dr Jane Galton, Trustee, CCF UK, recently travelled to the CCF cheetah safe house in Somaliland which is currently caring for over 30 cheetahs confiscated from the illegal pet trade – a number that seems to be increasing each week. Whilst at the property, Jane worked with other volunteers, including vets from our partner vet school in the Czech Republic, to help provide a suitable place for the cheetahs to stay temporarily, while a more long-term solution of a wildlife sanctuary is implemented, and receive the care they desperately need.

The cheetahs at the safe house have been taken from the wild as cubs and trafficked through Somaliland to be sold as pets in the Middle East. This illegal trade is decimating the already small cheetah population in the Horn of Africa. The cubs at the safe house were confiscated by the Somaliland government and handed over to CCF and local partners for their care, and in many cases, to nurse them back to health. Many arrive severely malnourished, dehydrated and traumatised. Sadly, they will never be able to be released back into the wild.

Jane said, “it was an amazing experience, tinged with huge sadness to see these magnificent, beautiful iconic animals needing to be looked after in captivity when they truly belong in the wild“.

Please help us to give these cheetah cubs the best care possible by donating to CCF UK. These cheetahs may not have the chance to go back to the wild where they belong, but their rescue by CCF will ensure that they do not have to struggle to make a journey that they may not survive, and will receive enrichment and appropriate care for the rest of their lives.