Publisher harnesses power of demolition to furnish big cats’ homes

Demolition Hub and Diggers LIVE magazines are joining forces to help Howletts Wild Animal Parks and Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve in Kent.

The campaign aims to acquire large rocks and boulders to enrich the living environments of the larger animals such as lions and bears, homed at the two parks, which work in conjunction with partner charity, The Aspinall Foundation.

The Aspinall Foundation works in some of the world’s most fragile environments to save endangered animals and return them to the wild, combining captive breeding, education, reintroduction and habitat protection through its overseas projects across three continents.

The Demolition Hub/Diggers LIVE teams are campaigning for donations of large rocks and boulders to be transported to the two wildlife parks. They are asking their readers and advertisers in the construction equipment and demolition industries to share this news, assist with the acquisition and transportation of the rocks, or donate to the cause.

The magazines and associated brands will be working closely with Howletts and Port Lympne to promote the campaign and provide regular updates in print, as well as across their social channels.

The campaign came about when The Aspinall Foundation’s Corporate Partnerships Manager, Daniel Nicholls, approached publisher Ben Chambers after seeing his visit to the Seth Hill & Son quarry as part of the Molson open day on social media.

Ben Chambers said: “At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the request – it’s certainly different from a site visit or advertising query in my inbox. But as a huge animal lover myself, it didn’t take much of a sell to get me and my brands onboard.

“Being asked if I could use the reach of Demolition Hub and Diggers LIVE magazines to help this appeal was an honour for me and having encountered some fantastic brands and people in my time, I know we can make a difference for these animals.

“We are very big on charity and having raised over ￡6,000 for Mates in Mind at last month’s British Demolition Awards, I have every faith in us being able harness the demolition and plant communities to make this happen.”

Corporate Partnerships Manager at The Aspinall Foundation, Daniel Nicholls, said: “We are always looking to enrich the naturalistic environments where possible for all the animals at our partner parks, and this relationship provides the perfect opportunity to do that.

“We’re hugely grateful for the support from Ben, Demolition Hub and Diggers LIVE and are hopeful that the campaign will capture the attention of potential donors.”

The Aspinall Foundation has bred, nurtured and released hundreds of animals from Howletts and Port Lympne back to protected areas of their natural habitat. From the two sites in Kent and other collections in Europe plus working in situ in Congo, Gabon, Java and Madagascar, the charity has released 8 black rhino, 180 primates, 11 European bison and over 70 western lowland gorillas back to the wild.

ENDS

Editors’ Notes

Demolition Hub and Diggers LIVE magazines are published by Global News Media Ltd under the trading name Chambers Media. For further information please contact: Ben Chambers, Managing Director [email protected]

Howletts Wild Animal Park and Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve?in Kent are some of the most successful breeders of captive endangered animals in the world. With unrivalled achievements in husbandry, the conservation charity boasts 146 gorilla births, 41 black rhino, 126 clouded leopards, 38 Javan gibbons, 172 Javan langur and 22 African elephants.?

The Aspinall Foundation (TAF)?is a UK based charity devoted to the conservation of endangered species and returning them to wild protected areas. TAF’s major conservation projects include the reintroduction of the western lowland gorilla to the?Batéké Plateau region of Central Africa, using both wild-born and captive-born release stock, the reinforcement of small isolated gibbon and langur populations in Java, the transfer of eight captive-born, Critically Endangered eastern black rhinoceros to protected reserves in South Africa and Tanzania, and the implementation of a species survival programme for the Critically Endangered greater bamboo lemur in Madagascar.

Companies wishing to donate any large rocks and boulders for Howletts and Port Lympne’s animal enclosures can contact: Hannah Kelly, Marketing Coordinator, [email protected] ?

For donations to The Aspinall Foundation, contact: Daniel Nicholls, [email protected]