As our ADI US team and supporters celebrate their Independence Day tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for giving so many animals their very own Independence Day through your support for ADI.
But first, I have some very special news….
Early on Wednesday morning, Daisy donkey gave birth to a beautiful foal. Within minutes the baby was on their own feet, feeding, soon happily exploring the Sanctuary alongside mother. The resident herd of uncle and auntie donkeys gathered around, with Daisy keeping her body between them and her newborn, as a protective mother should. She turned her back on them, shuffled her feet in gentle warning, not to come too close for baby’s first steps. They were all very respectful and, as we know, the herd is incredibly protective of young animals.
Eleven months ago, Daisy and her family were walking on a road and her mate was hit and killed by a truck. Daisy was found at the roadside with her son. The owners agreed to surrender the donkeys to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.
ADIWS follows the True Sanctuary policies, therefore does not allow breeding. Males are neutered, but donkey pregnancies can last 14 months and it slowly became clear Daisy had arrived with a baby already on the way. This is the third occasion a female has arrived pregnant, the earlier babies being Nugget and Eeyore, who have grown up in freedom.
We are keeping our distance from mother and foal and so do not know their sex yet, but do you have any suggestions for a name, boy or girl? We must provide lifetime care for the newborn, and a donkey can live up to 30 years. Can you contribute to a special ‘Baby Shower’ to help secure the future of our latest arrival? Donate US $, CA $ | Donate UK £, Euros, Rand
It is always emotional when I see the lions we save take their first steps on African soil. For Coralie and Goliath, that was a year ago and marked the end of a decade in a tiny French circus cage. Now they were back in the land where they belong, enjoying acres of natural space – that’s what I call a real Independence Day!
Coralie and Goliath also represent two of the first animals saved as France begins emptying its circus cages. There will be no wild animals in circuses in France by the end of 2028. No one will suffer again as Coralie and Goliath did – that’s why ADI’s campaigns for permanent change are so vital.
Almost to the day a year before Goliath and Coralie’s arrival, Tim and I landed in South Africa with the with the six young lions saved from the illegal trophy pet trade in Kuwait– Muheeb, Shujaa and Saham, Aziza, Dhubiya, and Saif. Who can forget Saif and Dhubiya playing football (pictured above)?
They have all grown so much. Shujaa and Saham are very loud, big boys. Saif is developing a magnificent mane, and Aziza is the most transformed of them all. Gone is that frightened, anxious animal, pacing frantically, we encountered in Kuwait. In her place a confident, powerful and friendly lioness.
Saif, Dhubiya and Aziza have recently moved to the 6+acre Sam & Eric Habitat where we have built a new three-room house and hope to full integrate the three as a pride. Aziza has been excitedly digging for rabbits but hasn’t caught any! Watch their move to their new home and their excitement…
Six months after the Kuwait 6 arrived, Muheeb suddenly began to lose weight, he was taken into hospital and the diagnosis was devastating – cancer. Eighteen months on, after treatment by Dr Caldwell, Muheeb appears to be in remission. He continues to seize life with both paws, devours his meals and is maintaining a healthy weight, plays with toys and roars with the other lions.
We have built a new 2.5-acre habitat with a two room house for Muheeb, alongside Aziza, Dhubiya, and Saif, so he remains next to his friends from Kuwait. He galloped out into his new home and raced alongside his new neighbor, Smith, who lives next door.
For most of the animals we rescue, it is not possible to return them to the wild. Years of captivity leave deep scars—they are inbred and often cruelly maimed, their teeth broken, and toes cut off to stop claws from growing. They are stripped of the tools they need to survive on their own.
So, it is extra special for us when a wild future is possible. We have released monkeys, birds and hundreds of confiscated tortoises into the wild. Right now, four orphaned barn owl chicks are being hand reared at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. The next step will be to put them in an aviary in our new Non-Predator Reception Area and then they will be freed. We will be building owl boxes on our barn. Nothing quite says ‘Independence Day’ than a cage being opened and a bird flying into the distance!
Where animals cannot be returned to the wild, ADI works to give them a life as close to what nature intended as possible – preferably in their natural habitat.
We fund the care of dozens of monkeys, kinkajous, coatimundis and bears rescued from circuses, restaurants, illegal zoos and wildlife traffickers. These live in enclosures built at two rainforest sanctuaries in Peru.
I will never forget the day we returned spider monkey Pepe and his family into their forest home. I opened Pepe’s travel crate, he looked out, climbed onto the top, hugged me and then swung away, into the trees with the other monkeys.
ADI’s most important rescue missions have been the huge operations enforcing circus bans and rescuing all the animals in Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru – approaching 200 animals saved. We airlifted 29 lions out of Bolivia, a staggering 33 lions on one aircraft from Colombia and Peru, and 20 tigers and lions flew to new lives from Guatemala to South Africa.
Many of these animals continue to enjoy wonderful lives at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, like Kiara, still with her cubs Scarc and Mahla 12 years after we reunited the family when we rescued them from a circus in Peru. Those residents who have now passed on, like dear Tarzan and Tanya, got to enjoy their golden years with grass beneath their feet in the African sunshine.
Ben Tzur and Ori have been stranded for months due to the war. Saved as cubs by Israeli wildlife officials from the illegal pet trade – BenTzur was found tied to a tree in a yard – they are now the equivalent of teenagers.
But with your help their Independence Day will come.
Today, I have been in touch with our shipping agents in Israel and South Africa and we are working hard to move the boys at the end of July or early August. Everything is in place for them at ADIWS, where we have reconstructed the old habitats of Saif, Dhubiya, Aziza and Muheeb into a single habitat with a new 2-room house, to make a forever home for BenTzur and Ori.
Independence Day for all of these animals means giving them back their lives.
As you know, the war has caused the cost of the rescue of BenTzur and Ori to escalate massively. The flights cannot be donated by airlines this time, we must pay for them. I want to thank everyone who has contributed, but we must raise more to cover the costs.
There is a lot going on with our legislative campaigns around the world and at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa! I am pleased to bring you the latest, which is only possible with your support.
After some optimism in the past two weeks that some cargo flights would resume out of Israel we seem to be back to the same waiting game of the past 100+ days. Each week the cargo companies we are in discussion with undertake security assessments and unfortunately each week the situation remains unstable. We are ready and waiting to receive the lions at ADIWS and will update you when we have some news on flights. Please support this rescue (Donate US $, CA $ | Donate £, Euros, Rand), as previously reported costs have escalated dramatically.
Colombia’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection has issued a resolution to compel the government to implement the ban on the manufacture, import, and sale of cosmetics and ingredients tested on animals. Representative Juan Carlos Losada had drafted the resolution, with ADI support, following a successful lawsuit before the Council of State. The product ban had been included in the law banning cosmetics testing on animals passed by Congress six years ago but had not been implemented. ADI is also pressing for sections of the law to be enforced that demand the use of non-animal methods and calling for incentives and facilities for the development and implementation of advanced, non-animal methods.
Paige, an elephant owned by Trunks and Humps who have been repeatedly exposed by ADI, was used in a stunt at the Convention for the Republican Party of Texas in Houston. Videos of Paige at the convention went viral when she urinated as she walked through the loud crowds, her handler pulling her along and jabbing her with his bullhook. ADI undercover footage has previously shown Trunks and Humps’ presenter Mike Swain (pictured) electric shocking, hooking, and beating his elephants. ADI contacted D’rinda Randall, Chair of the Republican Party of Texas asking that the party commit to ensuring wild animals are not used for entertainment at their events in future – we await a response.
Contact the Republican Party of Texas and ask that they never use performing wild animals at such events. Email: info@texasgop.org / Call: 512-477-9821
Earlier this month, Deniz, a 16-year-old carriage horse, collapsed and died in New York City, laying on the street among a crowd of horrified onlookers. A week later 18-year-old tourist Romanch Mahajan was thrown from a runaway carriage after the horse was spooked. Romanch suffered a traumatic head injury and died in the hospital later that day. The incidents have reignited support for Ryder’s Law, the ordinance to ban horse carriages in the city. Councilman Chris Marte has reintroduced it to the council – renamed Romanch’s Law, in honor of the young boy who lost his life.
Roadmaps to eliminate animal experiments have been issued in the UK, US and EU and may offer the best opportunity for decades to actually end certain tests. The US FDA roadmap has language highly critical of animal testing but is limited in terms of targets. The EU Commission roadmap is the most ambitious in terms of targets. The UK roadmap falls between the two, setting some important targets but is seriously undermined by unnecessarily propagandizing about the assumed value of animal research – referring to animal tests as “fundamental to life sciences research”. This undermines the proposals from the outset, leaving a sense of déjà vu, that the UK Home Office isn’t really committed to the change to advanced science. This is underscored by the failure to confirm whether the 2025 target date to end the Rabbit Pyrogen Test has been met.
Nevertheless, simultaneous proposals to end certain experiments in the USA, UK and across the EU, with some of the mechanics for change, is significant and ADI is intensifying efforts worldwide.
In the UK, contact your MP and demand proof that commitments are being met.
Milan Fashion Week announced it will no longer promote fur and has urged fashion brands to go fur-free. Organizers Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiania say it “is committed to not promoting fur”, adding that participating brands should not “present garments, accessories or anything else with fur”. As more fashion houses, retailers, and fashion weeks move away from fur, the industry is proving that style and compassion can go hand in hand.
In May, we enjoyed one of our favorite Facebook lives as the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary began its day, featuring many of our rescued residents who are not seen as often as others. We began with the ducks and guinea fowl in pursuit of Jonas for their breakfast, we met up with Matilda’s family of cows, sheep, goats, Harold the goose, springboks Percy and Daisy, horses Apollo, Amani and Crockett, we watched the tortoises being fed and, of course, some lions and tigers. Enjoy the highlights here
Over two years ago, Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to instruct the City Attorney to draft an amended ordinance banning rodeos. Since then, this has sat in committee. Last week, ADI attended a press conference with Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and our humane coalition (pictured) to persuade the Arts, Parks, Libraries, and Community Enrichment Committee to put the ordinance on the agenda for a vote, but it was again omitted – the battle continues.
A bill in Illinois to outlaw steer tailing, known as “coleadero”, where a rider on horseback pulls and twists a bull’s tail, causing fear, pain, and injuries, has also stalled.
Don’t let these bills die!
In LA: Submit written comments TODAY on Council File 20-1575 – urge the City Council to bring a vote on the rodeo ban
Lobsters endure a horrific, agonizing death when boiled alive. UK law recognizes crustaceans as sentient, but this cruel practice continues in Wales. ADI and other animal protection groups have sent a letter to the Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience & Sustainability for Wales, urging the Welsh Government to end this inhumane and unnecessary practice. Please TAKE ACTION here.
Preparations for the arrival of BenTzur and Ori from Israel have seen a lot of construction at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, so we can move several residents to new habitats.
Smith has moved to the 5+ acre Antonia Habitat next door to his brother, Rey Cusco.
Aziza, Dhubiya and Saif have moved to the 5+ acre Sam&Eric Habitat, where we have built a new 3-room house; hopefully, this will help them to fully integrate as a pride.
We didn’t want Muheeb to lose contact with his Kuwait friends, so he has moved into the new 2.5-acre Keith’s Happiness Habitat next door, also with a new house.
This has been a major new construction project at the ADIWS, which, including redeveloping the Kuwait lions’ old habitats and a new 2-room house for BenTzur and Ori, is costing $93,000. Can you help with this investment in facilities for these lions (Donate US $, CA $ | Donate £, Euros, Rand), which we hope they will enjoy for many years to come?
VICTORY: The U.S. City of Portland banned the sale of foie gras by 7 votes to 5, as ADI and other campaigners united against the cruel product.
Banning foie gras is gaining traction across the country; we must maintain the momentum. Review the status of foie gras laws in the U.S. here.
After a week in Old Chapel Vet Clinic under observation with Dr Caldwell, Sasha returned to ADIWS in a lively mood. Her blood tests were good, no problems, and she’s been eagerly eating her food. Clearly, she enjoyed her hospital hotel stay!
The Department of Defense (DOD) has labs in Thailand, Peru, and the US, which conduct horrific fire trauma training experiments on live animals. Bill H.R. 6514 Protecting Animals in Military Training Act, would require the DOD to replace, when viable, the use of “live animals, including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, and marine mammals…in any live fire trauma training conducted by the Department of Defense…with advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or actors”.
Hunting with dogs remains legal in Northern Ireland despite bans in England, Scotland and Wales. The good news is that the ‘Hunting with Dogs Bill’ passed its Second Stage by 60 votes to 15 in the Northern Ireland Assembly. If approved, the bill will not only ban hunting wild mammals with dogs but also trail hunting.
Trail hunting involves a scent trail laid for hunters to follow without chasing a live animal, but this cover has been repeatedly used to evade bans, and foxes are regularly hunted and killed. Our thanks to everyone who joined ADI and participated in the UK government’s recent public consultation on hunting laws, which included proposals to ban trail hunting. We await their response.
The Coosa Valley Spring Fair took place at the end of May in Rome, Georgia and hosted the Banana Derby. This horrific spectacle has two frightened capuchin monkeys strapped onto dogs “like jockeys” as the dogs race around makeshift tracks.
Contact the fair organizers atweb@coosavalleyfair.com and urge them not to host the Banana Derby next year and to adopt an animal-free policy.
A petition to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) to introduce a ban on all commercial sales of furbearing species is scheduled to be heard for initial consideration during the July 16-17 CPW meeting.
After a two-year hiatus commercial Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf. announced plans to go ahead with the 2026 whaling season. This came just months after Norway announced its highest whaling quota in years, of 1,641 minke whales. These huge, sentient, intelligent animals have slow maturation and low reproductive rates meaning populations are slow to recover from any threats. Write to the Norwegian officials and Icelandic officials demanding an end to whale hunting.
VICTORY! After ADI Colombia’s two-year campaign, Bill 06/24S – 466/25C passed its final House of Representatives committee, making sex acts with animals and online distribution of videos of such abuse, a criminal offence. Importantly, amendments promoted by ADI were approved, to increase prison sentences and fines for these sickening crimes. The bill will now be reconciled in Congress, then forwarded for Presidential approval.
To help us continue with our campaigns, rescue, and sanctuary work, Please donate here.
We remain optimistic that cargo flights out of Israel to bring our rescued lions BenTzur and Ori are going to resume soon, although, another week has passed with no news. Despite all the talk in the media about the Memorandum of Understanding which everyone hopes will lead to an actual peace deal, the region remains gridlocked due to the war, and so we wait. And the boys are growing, fast!
We remain on high alert, keeping in touch with the relevant parties, and we will seize the first opportunity to bring the boys to their new life, home in Africa, at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.
After they were seized, BenTzur and Ori have remained in the zoo which provided a place of safety until a home could be found, so, they have now waited for over a year. You will recall we only took over the rescue in February. The Israel wildlife officials have sent us these recent video clips.
As you will see, they are going to be very big boys, and will never have walked or rolled about in grass, run at full speed, never seen other wildlife, nor open sky. Never conversed with other lions. They will hear the morning and evening roaring songs and will learn to join in. They have good teachers at ADIWS – across the road are Rey Ayacucho, Kesari, and Chino and Coco.
We know from previous experience they will start to run, explore, express themselves, take charge of their new territory. They will build muscle chasing around, exploring their new habitat, meeting the local rabbits, mongooses, hares, ground squirrels and other inhabitants. They will fall asleep each night under the African sky in the land of their ancestors, surrounded by their own kind.
Nothing stands still at ADIWS. We have been joined by four adorable barn owl chicks this week. A farmer nearby called us after finding the four chicks had fallen down the back of a grain silo; the parents had not been seen for several days, so feared poisoned or shot and the chicks were getting into serious difficulties.
Brent, ADIWS Wildlife & Education Director, has experience rearing and returning birds to the wild and has taken in the four (as yet unnamed), chicks (suggestions for names are welcome). They are gorgeous, already eating well and we will report on their progress with regular “Owl Watch” videos.
As the line from the movie Field of Dreams goes, “If you build it, they will come” – this could have been written about our Non-Predator Reception Area which has a regular stream of new residents needing our help – calves, goats, peacocks, baby and adult tortoises, antelope (like Springbok Percy and Daisy) and more.
Events outside of our control this year have put a lot of pressure on us. We took in the two lions, Lei-ah and Elsa, covering all food, veterinary and care costs, for what is now expected to be at least a year. The ladies filled our 2.5-acre Stephi quarantine habitat, so this presented a problem for the rescue of Ben and Ori, which we took over at short notice.
The war in the middle east has sent fuel and transport costs rocketing, impacting everything we do, supplies, transport, fencing. Most significantly, the move of Ori and BenTzur is expected to now become our most expensive rescue, per animal. We must raise $40,000 just to cover their relocation costs, including flights, ground transport, airport fees. Demand for space on flights is huge, so we need to be ready to act fast and seize the first opportunity.
We are still a long way short of our appeal target, so please help if you can.
BenTzur and Ori have waited too long for their new life, please help bring them home.
The Government’s public consultation on trail hunting closes on Thursday 18 June, so we have just one week for you to have your say and help end the cruelty.
Trail hunting sounds benign, but since the Hunting Act 2004 banned the hunting of most wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales, it has been used as a loophole to continue the killing.
In theory, trail hunting involves laying a scent for the hunt to follow instead of chasing a wild animal. However, multiple investigations and court cases have shown how hunts frequently fail to follow the pre-laid scents, or even lay a scent trail at all, but continue to kill animals.
Even without these abuses, trail hunting will always put wildlife at risk with hunters and packs of dogs accidentally or recklessly pursuing wildlife – the ‘trail hunting’ theory is what the hunters have hidden behind for two decades.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has launched a public consultation on whether to ban trail hunting in England and Wales. They need to hear from YOU.
Consultations like this shape animal welfare laws and show politicians that people care. The animals can’t take part, but you can be their voice. It’s easy for you to help them.
Please go to our webpage TODAY. This provides a link to the consultation and we have provided suggestions for answers to questions – you can use these, or use your own answers. Click here to take part.
After a tough two-year campaign, this week, Bill 06/24S – 466/25C has passed its final committee stage in Colombia’s House of Representatives, making sex acts with animals and the online distribution of videos of such abuse a criminal offence.
Importantly, amendments secured by the ADI Colombia team were approved – to increase prison sentences and fines for these sickening offences. In addition to the acts of cruelty, prison sentences will be imposed on those profiting from the abuse, recording and disseminating pornographic videos of these perverted acts online, profiting from cruelty, and repeating a cruel act with the same animal. The law supports an education and awareness campaign to prevent such behaviour, and for people to report such abuse.
The bill will now be reconciled in Congress and then go for Presidential approval, with ADI’s team in Colombia confident it will become law.
A huge thank you to Senator Esmeralda Hernández, the bill’s principal author, sponsors, Senator Germán Blanco and Iván Cepeda and Representatives Gabriel Becerra, and Juan Carlos Losada, the members of Congress who supported this initiative and, of course our ADI team in Colombia led by Yani Mateus and Eduardo Peña.
We have seen how the internet and social media has opened a door to dark human depravity, from pornographic videos of animals being sexually abused to the revolting cruelty videos where people pay to watch monkeys, kittens and other animals tortured. ADI is campaigning to pressurise social media companies to take responsibility to prevent these videos being broadcast.
We have also seen the rise of the demand for trophy pets as people parade lion and tiger cubs online, only to discard them when they become difficult to manage – and ADI then picks up the pieces, as these animals are abandoned.
The social media companies have much to answer for – allowing the growth of an industry of fake rescues, where animals are put in danger, terrified, and then ‘saved’, and now, even created using AI tools. These cruelties and depiction of cruelty encourage cruelty, while also pushing real rescues, like ADI rescues, off the tops of feeds.
We have made huge progress fighting the abuse of animals for entertainment exposing the behind-the-scenes cruelty of circuses and animal trainers for movies. We have gained bans on animal circuses all over the world, driven most live animal use out of the movie industry, and secured prohibitions of cruel bull runs and bullfighting – but social media is a whole new challenge.
In a world where so much has moved online, we must take that on.
We celebrate a huge victory this week, but we know there is more to do. Will you help us fight back for the animals? Please donate here UK £, Euros, Rand | US $, CA $
I wanted to share this wonderful picture of Tomas and Kimba dozing in the grass at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary – a perfect picture of the tranquil life they now enjoy.
The boys were born in a circus in Guatemala and lived in cages smaller than a double bed. Eventually, Tomas was sent to a local zoo and the circus kept Kimba. Then ADI’s campaign to ban animal circuses swept Latin America, and Guatemala joined the growing list of countries banning animal circuses. Kimba was rescued by ADI as we enforced the law and emptied the country’s circuses. It looked like Tomas had missed his chance and would live out his life in a Guatemalan zoo.
Then, a few weeks after the seizures of the animals had started, the zoo surrendered Tomas to us (giving us 20 minutes notice), but we had a space near his brother. So, at the end of the mission we airlifted 17 tigers and lions to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa, where we reunited Tomas and Kimba.
The boys are rarely apart in the 2.5-acre Avi Habitat, and often sleep cuddled up together. Our large habitats mean our residents can disappear into the bush, so the drone is a useful tool for locating them. As you can see in this picture, we fly high, so not to disturb our sleeping beauties!
It has been an extraordinarily busy time for animals and animal welfare not only here at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary but all over the world. Here is a quick look at many of the issues happening now and progress that has been made. We must keep pushing forward!
We are heartbroken to have reported that one of our horses, dear 11-year old Sammy, passed away this month. Two years ago, Sammy entered our lives, stepping from an SPCA trailer, calling joyously as he ran to his friends – Apollo, Amani and Crockett. Two wonderful years followed with fond memories of Sammy coming to the door for apples with the others – the best of times.
Each day the horses would roam the 455-acre ADI Wildlife Sanctuary and come into the paddock at night. The sight of the four galloping across the hillside was magical. Freed from tethers and brutal hobbling, they were living as horses should, running free.
While we still mourn the loss of Sammy, today we celebrate this gentle giant and remember the wonderful life that ADI supporters gave him at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. Enjoy the sight of him in this video running free with his friends.
Sloth World Florida, which planned to be the world’s only ‘Slotharium’, recently closed before ever opening to the public after a minimum of 31 sloths died. Some estimate as many as 51 sloth deaths.
ADI contacted Florida state and federal agencies to push towards a full criminal investigation and to strengthen laws regarding facility licensing and the importation of sloths and exotic animals.
Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier has since confirmed a criminal investigation is ongoing.
EXCITING UPDATES – New York state bills A05850/S3629A, to prohibit the use of kangaroos, big cats, primates, bears, and wallabies in a traveling animal act, have passed both houses! After some procedural steps, the bills will go to the Governor’s desk for signature.
Illinois banned the use of elephants in traveling animal acts back in 2017. HB 4255, to expand this list to include cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, tigers, primates, and bears, passed the Senate (51-4) this week and now awaits the Governor’s signature.
Following decades of campaigning, protests, and mounting public outrage, Jordan World Circus has dropped their elephant act. ADI brought global attention to the rampant abuse elephants suffered in circuses in its 2014 Out of Control Video. The undercover footage at Jordan World Circus showed elephants used for rides fighting while workers frantically tried to control them with bullhooks, metal bars, and stun guns. The video highlights both the danger to the stressed elephants as well as to the public when wild animals are forced to perform for so-called entertainment. A huge thanks to all who spoke out, protested, called venues, and continue to push for legislation to stop circus suffering.
In more good news, there are no elephant rides at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Texas! After years of urging the venue and sharing with them ADI evidence of supplier Trunks and Humps beating and shocking their animals, we are delighted that the Scarborough Renaissance Festival did not have elephant rides this year. These intelligent, social animals endure a lifetime of suffering for these brief rides.
Let’s make sure these rides remain a thing of the past! Please thank the festival for its decision and urge them to make this a permanent policy. Call: 972-938-3247 / Contact form.
The UK government has launched a public consultation on trail hunting — a practice repeatedly used to circumvent the ban on fox hunting (the Hunting Act 2004). This is an important opportunity to close the loopholes and strengthen protections.
The Italian animal trainer/presenter Stefano Orfei announced that he will no longer perform with animals. His last performance with a big cat act was at the Rony Roller Circus in Italy in February. It has been reported that he has handed over four lionesses to the Animanatura Wild Sanctuary in Italy. A ban was passed following a campaign ADI was part of including a screening of Lion Ark in the Congress. However, the ban has yet to be enforced. Until this happens, we urge local action and for presenters and circuses worldwide to stop using animals.
Since 2022, two chimps, Austin and Bossou, have been separated from their troop at Dublin Zoo after the introduction of a laboratory-reared male. They remain isolated, deprived of normal social interaction, and housed in an environment that does not reflect their natural habitat.
Chimpanzees are a highly social species and restriction from social interactions impacts both psychological and physical health. ADI is also concerned that the limited environmental complexity in their current habitat is restricting natural explorative behaviors. The zoo has admitted that the situation is “far from ideal” with plans to find a solution in a 2025 report. There has been no update since.
ADI has written to Dublin Zoo but received no response to date. Ask Dublin Zoo directly for an update on the situation.
The Farm Bill passed the House, containing multiple threats to animals, and is now in Senate committee.
ADI opposes: Section 12006 uses language from the Save Our Bacon act (previously the EATS Act) to prevent states from prohibiting the cruel confinement of farmed animals.
Rep. Gosar’s wolf Amendment would undermine protections for wolves by making it easier for ranchers to claim wolf depredation despite lacking evidence.
The fight is not over. The bill must still pass in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and then the entire Senate. Take action here!
When we purchased the land for ADIWS much of it was denuded by agriculture and grazed out. As well as building habitats for our rescued lions and tigers we have been steadily re-wilding the land. We have planted over 200 trees and continue to see an explosion in wildflowers, wildlife, birds, and insects.
Trees must be tall and strong to be a scratching post for a lion or tiger. That’s why we’re hoping to plant more structural trees at ADIWS. Please sponsor a tree for the animals and the environment here! US $, CA $ | UK £, Euros, Rand
The suffering of laboratory animals goes on in secret, behind high-security doors, in commercial testing laboratories, government facilities and universities. Tests on animals are UNRELIABLE, UNETHICAL AND UNNECESSARY, due to species differences, and the impact on results caused by laboratory conditions.
This year for World Day for Laboratory Animals, we urged supporters to contact elected representatives, asking for urgent replacement of animal tests with advanced, non-animal methods.
In Bogotá, ADI Colombia protested outside the headquarters of the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) using images from ADI investigations. They drew attention to the lack of transparency and oversight regarding animal experiments in Colombia and the failure of the Institute to respond to requests for information. The ADI campaign in Colombia is at a critical stage with the implementation of the ban secured on cosmetics testing on animals, which includes a requirement to use non-animal methods in all areas of research when available.
As seen in our video, around the world, animals are burnt, blinded, poisoned, infected with diseases, and mutilated. They live their lives in small, barren cages, suffering fear, pain, and death in experiments when advanced, human-relevant methods are available.
The UK government states that it wants to “encourage farmers” to move from mutilation exemptions such as tail docking. This is a painful process that many farmers perform on piglets without any anesthetic. However, encouragement isn’t enforcement. UK law states tail docking should be a last resort, yet it occurs on around 85% of farms. Other countries, including Finland and Sweden, have prohibited tail docking. This proves change is possible. If all mutilation is banned, then welfare standards will be forced to improve. ADI has written to MPs demanding clarity and enforcement regarding the animal welfare strategy.
You can help too. Write to your MP to demand enforcement, not exemptions. See also our webpage for a detailed overview of ADI’s response to the government’s animal welfare strategy and more ways to help push for change.
ADI has submitted a proposal to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) calling for the phase-out of outdated animal-based drug safety tests. These include the rabbit pyrogen test (RPT) and horseshoe crab blood test, which are still used to detect contaminants that cause fever.
Modern human-relevant alternatives now exist, including the Monocyte Activation Test (MAT) and recombinant Factor C (rFC), which are more accurate, sustainable and humane.
With the RPT already removed from the European Pharmacopeia, we are urging the U.S. to not fall behind.
ADI is also drafting letters to the FDA and Congress to push for wider regulatory change.
The 2026 Pima County Fair in Tucson, Arizona, hosted a number of cruel animal acts: Sea Lion Splash, pig races, pony rides, bird and reptile shows, and a petting zoo. Horrifyingly, this year they also invited back Brunon Blaszak and his tigers. Blaszak claims his demeaning cat act is educational. A tiger walking a tightrope or performing other tricks does nothing to teach people about the intelligence, sentience, and communications of tigers, or how they live in the wild and what they need. This is not the life nature intended for any of these animals.
Help us stop this suffering! Please contact the Pima County Fair today and ask them to no longer host wild animal acts. Call: 520-762-9100 / Email / Facebook / Contact form
The Banana Derby is a cruel spectacle featuring capuchin monkeys strapped onto dogs “like jockeys” as the dogs race around makeshift tracks. Monkeys belong in trees, not tied to the backs of dogs. Disappointingly, the Lawrenceville Spring Fair hosted this horrific event at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Georgia. Contact the fair, fairgrounds, and city government and urge them not to host the Banana Derby anymore and to adopt an animal-free entertainment policy!
Gwinnett County Fairgrounds: Call: 770-963-6522 / Email
City of Lawrenceville, GA: Call: 678-407-6675 / Email / Contact form
Also, please urge your Congress members to support and co-sponsor the Captive Primate Safety Act, to ban public contact with and the keeping of primates as pets, as well as ban foreign and interstate trade of such species in the US.
Contact ADI if you see Banana Derby or similar acts coming to your hometown.
ADIWS recently had a veterinary and dental day with Dr. Peter Caldwell and Prof. Gerhard Steenkamp performing procedures on Kimba (pictured), Coco, and Mahla.
The three lions, rescued from different circuses in Guatemala and Peru, had their teeth cleaned and polished and Kimba and Coco each had a damaged incisor tooth removed by Prof. Steenkamp. Dr. Peter Caldwell darted the lions for the procedures, performed thorough veterinary examinations, took blood samples, and gave vitamin and supplement injections. Kimba also had an eye examination and was referred to a specialist for review.
It was a day of routine health care and maintenance for lions rescued from years of abuse in circuses, which leaves them with lifelong compromised bodies. If you missed it, you can catch up on our YouTube channel here.
Last year the UK government finally announced licences for private ownership of primates with the aim of making standards comparable to those of zoos. These came into effect on April 6th, 2026. ADI remains disappointed that the government failed to enact stronger measures, systematically phasing out primate pets instead of attempting to regulate this unnecessary industry. There are no conservation or welfare benefits to keeping these intelligent animals confined for private entertainment in a country with an unsuitable climate. Yet the government has chosen to take on the cost of regulating a practice which neither benefits animals nor people.
ADI considers every primate species to almost always be unsuitable for private ownership due to complex social, behavioral and dietary needs.
If you are aware of any privately owned primate pets, please let us know.
In the UK, two horses needlessly died at the three-day Grand National Festival and not long after another was sadly euthanized at Sandown. In the U.S., three horses died at Keeneland racetrack during the track’s recent festivities leading up to their Derby Day. This is the disturbing and tragic reality of this cruel sport, while these beautiful, sentient individuals are being pushed to literally race for their lives. Please say no to placing a bet on horse races and encouraging others to do the same.
Etsy announced that as of August 11, 2026, vendors will no longer be allowed to sell fur products on the platform. This announcement came in addition to another policy update that also prohibited products made from animal species designated as threatened or endangered. These are important steps forward for protecting animals and moving towards a fur-free, cruelty-free world.
Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to these new policies that will allow the continued sale of a host of animal-derived oddities. Though many might think of Etsy as a marketplace for small trinkets, jewelry, art, and the like, they also have listings for collections of eyeballs in jars (bobcat, coyote, raccoon, cow, etc.), wet specimens (baby otters, baby rabbits, lambs, piglets, octopus, etc.), bulk baby chicken heads, animals posed in crude ways or using crude substances, and much more.
Ask Etsy to take a stand for ALL animals and to extend their new Animal Products Policy to encompass these other ‘products.’
Message Etsy on Facebook and message their CEO Kruti Patel Goyal on LinkedIn.
LA has been on the verge of confirming a rodeo ban since it passed the council unanimously in 2023. Rodeos using animals are already banned in other Californian cities, including Pasadena, Irvine, Laguna Woods, and Chino Hills. Alameda and Clark Counties have also passed specific bans related to rodeo activities. Help us end this cruelty, such awful displays of brutality to animals should never be entertainment.
The majority of the French public want to see an end to animal testing. Additionally, the EU has committed to ending experiments on primates and instead utilizing advanced non-animal methods (NAMs). Despite this, the French Government continues to plan on expanding the Rousset Primatology Station into a national primatology centre. This expansion would triple the station’s capacity to 1,800 primates for testing, cost €31 million which could be used to create a centre to validate NAMs, just as the UK recently announced, and commit France to outdated methods for years to come. ADI has written to French officials urging them to reconsider this expansion which goes against the majority of their people’s beliefs.
Percy and Daisy were found injured and frightened in a ditch – Percy’s leg was badly broken and he was rushed to Johannesburg Wildlife Hospital where they were able to mend the break. Then, thanks to your contributions, these two adorable springboks were brought to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary’s new Non-Predator Reception Area (NPRA) to recover!
Due to their injuries, being imprinted on people, and where they came from being unclear, they will not be able to be released into the wild, but when they are fit enough Percy and Daisy will be able to roam freely across the Sanctuary enjoying hundreds of acres of natural habitat alongside our other free-ranging antelope, horses and donkeys.
These small, gentle, antelope, closely related to gazelles, are often the targets of cowardly trophy hunters seeking to mount their heads or horns on a wall or use their hides as rugs.
Orcas Wikie and Keijo and 12 bottlenose dolphins have been left stranded in the now closed Marineland Antibes. Over a year since the park’s closure, not only are the tanks deteriorating but so is the welfare of these forgotten animals. Whilst the banning of cetacean (dolphins & whales) shows in France has been celebrated as a huge win for these species, there has been no clear contingency plan for the relocation of the animals still inhabiting the abandoned park.
In February, ADI wrote to the French Ministère de la Transition écologique offering advice and support on the fate of Wikie and Keijo and the dolphins and getting them sent to sanctuary, with no response. A statement released in February noted a decision would be made by the end of March. With this deadline having passed ADI followed up, again with no response. Several proposals for translocation have been denied due to varying political variables. The Minister for Ecology Mathieu Lefèvre has now announced plans to transfer Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque in Spain by the end of June, citing the situation as a vital emergency. This is not a rescue, it is the continuation of a life in captivity. Learn more about the cruelties of cetacean captivity here.
Help us continue with our campaigns and rescue work.
Yesterday was a veterinary and dental day at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary with Dr. Peter Caldwell and Prof. Gerhard Steenkamp performing procedures on Kimba, Coco, and Mahla.
The three lions, rescued from different circuses in Guatemala and Peru, had their teeth cleaned and polished and Kimba and Coco each had a damaged incisor tooth removed by Prof. Steenkamp. Dr Peter Caldwell darted the lions for the procedures, performed thorough veterinary examinations, took blood samples, and gave vitamin and supplement injections. Kimba also had an eye examination and referred for specialist review.
The day allowed us to tackle the basic wear and tear on the animals’ teeth – Mahla and Coco were rescued by ADI almost 12 years ago and Kimba 8 years ago – a reminder of how the vital work caring for these animals continues long after they are rescued, and inevitably, the cost of that care of their bodies compromised by early-age malnutrition and inbreeding.
Many animals in captivity suffer for years in painful silence, due to broken and infected teeth. Teeth are deliberately smashed with metal bars when animals like lions challenge trainers, and are broken as they desperately bite the bars to try to escape their tiny prisons.
We remember dear Leo, who lived to old age at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, had suffered all four canine teeth broken off in the circus, and who can forget Colo Colo, the angry star of the film ‘Lion Ark’ whose pain was finally relieved by renowned veterinary dentist Dr Peter Emily.
Aside from the pain these animals endure, untreated, the infections can be lethal. I remember a small capuchin we saved from a Peruvian circus who had pus erupting under each eye from infected teeth, which had been deliberately snapped off in the circus. Lion Junior was in a similar state, pus erupting from his face – emergency surgery saved both.
Our dental teams will perform dozens of root canal procedures following our rescues, like the hours of surgery with tiny root canals on Pepe the spider monkey, whose canines had all been snapped off by the circus to prevent him from biting his abusers; and the much larger, similar procedures on old Leo.
This care of these animals does not end after the seizures from a lifetime of abuse, the airlifts, and stepping free on African soil. It is ongoing, for decades.
It has been eight long years of struggle since we started building the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. The rescues and campaigns for legal protection for animals had to continue across continents as we built our forever home for the survivors of the entertainment industry. We had to save many animals in a relatively short space of time, while completing construction of basic facilities. As we look to the future, and support our campaigns for ending the use of animals in entertainment with the ADIWS as a safe, secure home where our residents rights, intelligence, emotions and physical needs are respected, we are now looking towards having our own on-site veterinary facilities at the Sanctuary.
Yesterday’s procedures were performed in a makeshift surgical area but our goal is to have the funds to build a fully equipped veterinary clinic at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. At present we must travel 3 hours to take animals to hospital, we want to provide the best wildlife veterinary care on site enabling veterinarians and their assistants to come here.
What price relieving an old warrior like Kimba of toothache?
More details will follow, and we will launch major appeals for each aspect of the plans for the facilities, but please consider a donation today, to invest in long term veterinary care at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, our place of loving kindness for those we have rescued from the horror of the abuse and cruelty of circuses and other entertainment. We hope to also utilise the veterinary surgery for outreach to the local community about animal care, and also, as part of our future education programme/program.
PS: Don’t forget adopting one of our residents is a great way of helping with their day-to-day needs, including veterinary care, find out more here: ADI US store | UK store adoptions
I am deeply saddened that one of our horses, dear 11-year old Sammy, passed away this week. After two blissful years at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, Sammy’s body was breaking down from the injuries he sustained before his rescue, we had to make the kindest decision for him, while the hardest on all of us.
Two years ago, Sammy entered our lives, stepping from an SPCA trailer, calling joyously as he ran to his friends – Apollo, Amani and Crockett. I shall miss the sight of him gently grazing nearby, roaming the sanctuary with his friends, and coming to our door to ask for apples – the best of times.
When he was younger, Sammy was found with a broken fetlock, abandoned near the mines. Virginia SPCA rescued him, fixed his fetlock as best possible, and gave him a nice paddock where he lived for nine years. Then, two years ago, they had an emergency seizure of three horses being cruelly treated in a local township. With only temporary space for three more horses, they asked if the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary could take Apollo, Amani and young foal, Crockett. We said yes, and the three came to ADIWS, but there was a twist.
That evening as our new horse residents grazed at ADIWS, we received a call from the SPCA. Sammy was distressed, he was missing his friends. We said “yes, of course he must come with his friends”, so the next morning, the SPCA horse box was back. Sammy stepped out and as he turned and saw the others he called out, ran to them, rubbing noses with Apollo in greeting. Our gentle giant found his forever home.
Each day the horses would roam our 455-acre sanctuary and come into the paddock at night. The sight of the four galloping across the hillside was magical. Freed from tethers and brutal hobbling, they were living as horses should, running free.
Watch the video of Sammy’s arrival and, best of all, the four horses charging across the hillside at ADIWS, truly running free.
However, several months ago, Sammy’s fetlock began to break down. We provided regular veterinary attention and restricted his activity, at first bringing him in earlier than the others, and eventually keeping him in the paddock in the new Non-Predator Reception Area, where he would be joined by his three friends every evening, until morning. By March, we realized dear Sammy’s time would be limited, as the veterinarian said with the right care, he could have a few more quality months. Sadly, it was not as long as we had hoped, and Sammy’s overall health deteriorated. We knew it was time to say “goodbye”.
All of us who have animals in our lives, especially those that have be saved from abuse, know that it can be the hardest decision to make to end their suffering and let them pass with dignity, but it was the kindest thing to do for Sammy. He was loved.
We informed Virginia SPCA who kindly said “Thank you for the beautiful life Sammy lived with ADI. We will always be grateful.”
These powerful animals are often treated as beasts of burden, run to exhaustion for ‘sport’, and used in circuses, they suffer in stoic silence. If you would like to make a donation to care for the horses at ADIWS in memory of Sammy, please click here: US $, CA $ | £, Euros, Rand.
We will never forget Sammy, his strong, calm presence, and the sight of him running with his herd, grazing amongst the flowers, or wading through the lake. Our thanks to all the ADI supporters who helped give this gentle, battered horse a chance at a new life, running free for his final years.
Today is World Day for Laboratory Animals (WDLA), founded over forty years ago by the National Anti-Vivisection Society/Animal Defenders International. Like other commemorative days, World Day for Laboratory Animals is a day we can bring public attention to the millions of animals that die in experiments, in secret, around the world – experiments producing results which can never be trusted.
Over the years, we have marked WDLA in a variety of ways, from huge public demonstrations of tens of thousands marching through London, vigils at laboratories, publicity events, launching new undercover investigations from inside labs, and legislative work. This year, in the UK, we are briefing Members of Parliament on ending dog experiments, as well as pushing forward the UK government policy to replace use of animals with advanced, human-relevant methods. In the US, we are pushing members of Congress to push forward the FDA’s proposals to replace animal use with advanced, human-relevant technology and methods. ADI Colombia is staging a protest at the National Institute of Food and Drug Surveillance (INIMA).
WDLA is also a time to remember how, at the turn of the previous century, two brave women, Lind af-Hageby and Leisa Schartau, went undercover at London University to document the suffering of a small brown dog passed from one person to another during lectures for students, where dogs were cut open. The women took detailed notes and exposed the cruelty, which resulted in violence by the students who marched with the vile little chant, “Ha, ha, ha, he, he, he, Little Brown Dog, how we hate thee”, and our founder of the National Anti-Vivisection Society, Frances Power Cobbe was attacked in our office. A statue was built to remember the little brown terrier but after being vandalised several times, the memorial was stolen and disappeared. We erected a new monument in1985.
More than a hundred years later, the suffering continues, but we have seen progress, thanks to our campaigns, funding of advanced, non-animal techniques, and the awareness created by the annual World Day for Laboratory Animals:
Ending cosmetics testing on animals in the UK, Europe, and other countries such as Colombia.
Preventing what would have been the biggest ever animal testing programme, proposed under the EU’s chemicals testing directive, REACH.
Ending the use of apes in experiments in the UK and EU.
Ending the wild capture of monkeys for UK and EU laboratories.
Ending the wild capture of owl monkeys in the Amazon forest for malaria experiments in Colombia.
Seeing various animal protocols in labs eliminated, such as the ascites method of antibody production.
Ending requirements for school dissections in many countries.
Developing advanced, non-animal technologies and methods for research and testing, e.g., one of our research projects developed the first standard non-animal test for dental fillings.
Right now, we may be standing on the brink of the biggest shift away from animal experiments the world has ever seen, but only if we seize it. Now is the time we must dig in, press harder than ever before.
For the first time, we are seeing governments conceding that animal experiments are not only cruel, but bad science. This is the change of mindset we need. With the UK government and US Food & Drug Administration both announcing their ‘roadmaps’ to end the use of animals in laboratories, and Colombia working on a similar law to replace animal experiments, this is an important time in the campaign.
We have been assured by the UK Home Office that the 100+ year-old pyrogen test on rabbits is on track to be banned – a test we have exposed in the past, where rabbits are immobilized in stocks, injected with a test substance, and their temperature monitored. And the horrific forced swim test on rats is set to follow – if we keep pushing and work for it.
Critical to this progress is the increasing acceptance across science, regulators, and governments, that animal experiments are unreliable, unethical, and unnecessary.
Advanced computer models, organ-on-a-chip technology, and lab-grown human tissues and other techniques are not only humane, but they are also more accurate, offering insights directly relevant to human biology.
This has been a long hard road, but animals need your help more on this World Day for Laboratory Animals than ever before. Today we do not pause, we press ahead.
Jan Creamer 