In The Aspinall Foundation’s own words their mission is:
“Our commitment is to conservation, through captive breeding, education, and reintroduction”
The origins of The Aspinall Foundation started back in 1957 when John Aspinall purchased Howletts Wild Animal Park. As Howletts Wild Animal Park became increasingly overcrowded John Aspinall purchased a second animal park in 1973 – Port Lympne Wild Animal Park.
The Aspinall Foundation was set up to help protect and build on John Aspinall’s invaluable work in protecting and breeding wild animals.
In addition to the two animal parks in Kent The Aspinall Foundation also funds and manages two gorilla rescue and rehabilitation projects, one in Kenya and the other in Gabon. It is for their crucial work with gorillas that the Foundation is really known for.
Facts, Statistics & Successes
- Gorillas – Over 50 gorillas successfully integrated back into the wild
- Black Rhinos – Manage the largest breeding herd outside of the African continent
- African Elephants – 10 baby elephants have been born at Howletts Park
- Tigers – Across Europe, they have the largest population of Siberian and Indian tigers in their wildlife parks
- Monkeys – Huge successes in breeding rare monkeys, including lemurs and gibbons
The Aspinall Foundation also regularly work with other wildlife charities and centres to exchange animals and ensure that there’s the best chance of a successful breeding programme.
A programme centred around re-introducing animals to the wild has also started, with plans to expand this across other many of the captive species.
