Volunteer at the Karoo Wildlife Centre
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
In addition to providing a retreat and facility for volunteers, we are now able to offer a three night stay which includes a course on animal advocacy, incorporating it into an enjoyable stay at our wildlife sanctuary which is set in one of the most beautiful natural surroundings. Take four minutes to look at this excellent promo video which has some lovely drone footage.
https://youtu.be/CBA3_sIN2Ls
Wildlife advocacy course for Volunteers
We get upset when we read about the cruelty of the hunting industry, and we struggle to understand how anyone can derive pleasure from inflicting suffering and death on helpless animals. We’re willing to help, but we don’t really know how. There don’t seem to be any training programmes for those of us who are itching to do something positive to protect animals from hunters. But we feel hamstrung - what to do?
Most people believe that by commenting and sharing on social media, by signing petitions, and by attending protest marches that they will eventually succeed in getting conservation authorities to ban canned lion hunting. They won’t.
Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH for short) - is kicking off 2019 by introducing a 3-night stay including a real-time course on animal advocacy at its Karoo Wildlife Centre near Ladismith, a four-hour drive from Cape Town.
"The hunting industry is always ahead of the game, because it works unceasingly at a policy level with law makers to promote the narrative that hunting is conservation,” says Chris Mercer, Director and founder of CACH. "This, while we anti-canned hunting supporters march around town with placards to a vaguely curious audience. Online petitions are ineffective. It’s clear that animal advocates need to be better informed, better trained and more strategic.”
Chris will deliver daily talks on the subjects listed below. The course is designed to empower animal advocates to engage knowledgeably and convincingly in the great debate on whether hunting is conservation; to rebut the arguments of pro-hunting propaganda and to work effectively to bring an end to trophy hunting.
Mercer, a retired lawyer and founder of the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH), has used his legal experience to campaign against the highly unethical practice of canned lion hunting since the practice hit the headlines 20 years ago on ITV’s acclaimed The Cook Report.
Content for animal advocacy course
In our scenic slice of wilderness, there is an interesting variety of naturally occurring wildlife, such as antbears, black-backed jackal, steenbuck, duiker, porcupine, honey badgers, baboons, vervet monkeys, caracals and even leopard. Endemic birdlife includes eagles, owls, goshawk, buzzards, and one of the largest flying birds in the world, the beautiful Stanley’s bustard.
Sit on the bench at the top of a hill and drink in the silence and vast spaces washed by the sun. Reconnect with your own spirituality. This place is a retreat for nature lovers as much as a sanctuary for wildlife. The Klein Karoo is truly food for the soul.
This is a malaria free area.
Early mornings are a magic time to walk among the hills and valleys. Feed the horses. Visit the bee hives in south valley and learn a little about bee keeping. Do any little field work that needs doing before the day gets hot.
Stay indoors during the heat of the day and do computer work, using our satellite connection. In the cool of the late afternoon go down to the camps in order to feed the bat- eared foxes. Enjoy a glass of wine on the deck as you gaze out over our private valley, watching the sun sink behind the mountains in a spectacular blaze of colours. Listen to the cries of the jackals at dusk.
Enjoy the quiet of long, slow evenings as dusk turns to night. Turn your head to the stars as the Milky Way cuts a swathe through the clear night air. Star gazers come from all over the world to experience the unique clarity of the Karoo night.
Bookings for our volunteer course are open. In other words you can choose your dates. You can come for as short or as long a stay as you wish. The short three night course to focus on learning how to fight the hunting industry will cost you SAR3000. But if you wish to stay longer, you may do so at a cost of €500 (five hundred euros) per week. So it’s really up to you when you come and how long you wish to stay.
And you could also visit our Facebook page which gives you a lot of photographs and a diary of news as well as an excellent promo video which shows you how beautiful is our valley.
https://www.facebook.com/karoowildlife/
We partner with various reputable wildlife sanctuaries for volunteers who might wish enhance their stay in SA, in order to broaden their knowledge and experience.
Ladismith town is a twenty minute drive away, and has all facilities; chemist, shops, supermarket, restaurants, doctors and hospital.
For more information contact Chris at info@cannedlion.org.
RATES
3-day course:
Three thousand SA rands per person deposited into our PayPal account (non SA volunteers) or our Standard Bank account (SA residents) at least one month before arrival. (There are PayPal donation buttons on the website www.cannedlion.org)
Longer volunteer stays:
500 euros per week.
The cost includes:
In addition to providing a retreat and facility for volunteers, we are now able to offer a three night stay which includes a course on animal advocacy, incorporating it into an enjoyable stay at our wildlife sanctuary which is set in one of the most beautiful natural surroundings. Take four minutes to look at this excellent promo video which has some lovely drone footage.
https://youtu.be/CBA3_sIN2Ls
Wildlife advocacy course for Volunteers
We get upset when we read about the cruelty of the hunting industry, and we struggle to understand how anyone can derive pleasure from inflicting suffering and death on helpless animals. We’re willing to help, but we don’t really know how. There don’t seem to be any training programmes for those of us who are itching to do something positive to protect animals from hunters. But we feel hamstrung - what to do?
Most people believe that by commenting and sharing on social media, by signing petitions, and by attending protest marches that they will eventually succeed in getting conservation authorities to ban canned lion hunting. They won’t.
Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH for short) - is kicking off 2019 by introducing a 3-night stay including a real-time course on animal advocacy at its Karoo Wildlife Centre near Ladismith, a four-hour drive from Cape Town.
"The hunting industry is always ahead of the game, because it works unceasingly at a policy level with law makers to promote the narrative that hunting is conservation,” says Chris Mercer, Director and founder of CACH. "This, while we anti-canned hunting supporters march around town with placards to a vaguely curious audience. Online petitions are ineffective. It’s clear that animal advocates need to be better informed, better trained and more strategic.”
Chris will deliver daily talks on the subjects listed below. The course is designed to empower animal advocates to engage knowledgeably and convincingly in the great debate on whether hunting is conservation; to rebut the arguments of pro-hunting propaganda and to work effectively to bring an end to trophy hunting.
Mercer, a retired lawyer and founder of the Campaign Against Canned Hunting (CACH), has used his legal experience to campaign against the highly unethical practice of canned lion hunting since the practice hit the headlines 20 years ago on ITV’s acclaimed The Cook Report.
Content for animal advocacy course
- Overview of the hunting industry, how it works in South Africa, how why and when lion farming for canned lion hunting began.
- State capture - how the hunting industry controls conservation structures in South Africa.
- The importance of raising awareness of canned hunting and its spin-offs, including cub petting and the lion bone trade.
- Why raising awareness is not enough in itself.
- The need to rise to the policy level in order to secure a ban.
- Strategies that work and those that don’t.
- Why international organisations like CITES are worse than useless. Comfortable accommodation and all meals will be provided. See details below.
Info for volunteers
The sanctuary is situated in one of the most beautiful parts of South Africa. The Karoo may be arid but it has a stark beauty. We preserve 260 ha of pristine fynbos and we are surrounded on three sides by a 2 ½ thousand hectare conservancy which has been stocked with wildlife, such as zebra. Over the road there is another private nature reserve which has also been stocked with animals such as giraffe, and eland.
In our scenic slice of wilderness, there is an interesting variety of naturally occurring wildlife, such as antbears, black-backed jackal, steenbuck, duiker, porcupine, honey badgers, baboons, vervet monkeys, caracals and even leopard. Endemic birdlife includes eagles, owls, goshawk, buzzards, and one of the largest flying birds in the world, the beautiful Stanley’s bustard.
Sit on the bench at the top of a hill and drink in the silence and vast spaces washed by the sun. Reconnect with your own spirituality. This place is a retreat for nature lovers as much as a sanctuary for wildlife. The Klein Karoo is truly food for the soul.
This is a malaria free area.
Early mornings are a magic time to walk among the hills and valleys. Feed the horses. Visit the bee hives in south valley and learn a little about bee keeping. Do any little field work that needs doing before the day gets hot.
Stay indoors during the heat of the day and do computer work, using our satellite connection. In the cool of the late afternoon go down to the camps in order to feed the bat- eared foxes. Enjoy a glass of wine on the deck as you gaze out over our private valley, watching the sun sink behind the mountains in a spectacular blaze of colours. Listen to the cries of the jackals at dusk.
Enjoy the quiet of long, slow evenings as dusk turns to night. Turn your head to the stars as the Milky Way cuts a swathe through the clear night air. Star gazers come from all over the world to experience the unique clarity of the Karoo night.
Bookings for our volunteer course are open. In other words you can choose your dates. You can come for as short or as long a stay as you wish. The short three night course to focus on learning how to fight the hunting industry will cost you SAR3000. But if you wish to stay longer, you may do so at a cost of €500 (five hundred euros) per week. So it’s really up to you when you come and how long you wish to stay.
And you could also visit our Facebook page which gives you a lot of photographs and a diary of news as well as an excellent promo video which shows you how beautiful is our valley.
https://www.facebook.com/karoowildlife/
We partner with various reputable wildlife sanctuaries for volunteers who might wish enhance their stay in SA, in order to broaden their knowledge and experience.
Ladismith town is a twenty minute drive away, and has all facilities; chemist, shops, supermarket, restaurants, doctors and hospital.
For more information contact Chris at info@cannedlion.org.
RATES
3-day course:
Three thousand SA rands per person deposited into our PayPal account (non SA volunteers) or our Standard Bank account (SA residents) at least one month before arrival. (There are PayPal donation buttons on the website www.cannedlion.org)
Longer volunteer stays:
500 euros per week.
The cost includes:
- transport to and from Riversdale for those coming by BazBus from Cape Town
- comfortable accommodation in guest wing with private bathroom
- breakfast lunch and dinner
- tea and coffee at will
- seasonal fruit
- laundry
- free Wi-Fi, uncapped.
- Television
- Vaccinations and visa
- travel expenses such as local and international flights and bus fares
- health travel and cancellation insurance
- personal expenses
- alcohol
- snacks, sweets and cigarettes.
- transport to or from George airport.
Some of the wildlife and birds that are indigenous to the Klein Karoo.
