John Aspinall Foundation
Encyclopedia
The John Aspinall Foundation is a British charity (Registered Charity 326576) which works to promote wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation is the preservation, protection, or restoration of wildlife and their environment, especially in relation to endangered and vulnerable species. All living non-domesticated animals, even if bred, hatched or born in captivity, are considered wild animals. Wildlife represents all...

. It was set up by professional gambler and zoo owner John Aspinall
John Aspinall (zoo owner)
John Victor Aspinall was a British zoo owner and gambler. He was born in Delhi, India, but was a citizen of the United Kingdom.-Biography:...

 in 1984 and runs the two zoos he set up, Port Lympne Zoo
Port Lympne Zoo
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near the town of Hythe in Kent, England is set in and incorporates the historic mansion and landscaped gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker for Sir Philip Sassoon during World War I....

 and Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It also supports a number of conservation projects overseas to protect endangered species.

In addition to running the zoos, which breed rare and endangered animals, the Foundation campaigns on a range of wildlife issues, such as opposing Chinese moves to relax the rules regarding the trade in products made from tigers. The twin zoos are currently home to 14 Indian, Siberian and Sumatran tigers. The Foundation set up a project for gorillas orphaned by bush meat poachers in the Republic of Congo in the late 1980s and in 1998, set up an orphan gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...

 project in the neighbouring state of Gabon. It also supports the 'Project Protection des Gorilles Gabon' which is based in Franceville
Franceville
Franceville or Masuku is one of the four largest cities in Gabon, with a population of around 22,000 people. It lies on the River Mpassa and at the end of the Trans-Gabon Railway and the N3 road. It grew from a village named Masuku when Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza chose it to resettle former...

 in Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...

 and seeks to reintroduce gorillas in the Plateau Bateke National Park.

External links

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