Cyclists Go Wild for Local Charity
A group of friends have decided to cycle the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise funds for Cornish based charity Wild futures.
The group of four men, three from Cornwall, are busy training ready to undertake the challenge in May this year. In the lead up to the challenge they are also organising other events including a curry night and bingo night.
The funds that they raise will go towards a new enclosure for the Barbary macaques at The Monkey Sanctuary; one of Wild Futures charitable projects. The new enclosure is vital in order to provide more space for rescued monkeys.
Currently it is legal to keep a monkey as a pet in the UK, however Wild Futures continues to campaign to bring this to an end. It is estimated that there are about 5,000 monkeys being kept as pets in the UK. Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary is receiving requests almost weekly to rescue monkeys, signifying an escalating problem. The Sanctuary currently has 37 monkeys on site following the recent rescue of a group of 8 capuchins.
Sean Lindop, main organiser and also employee at Wild Futures states: “We are all very passionate about Wild Futures and raising funds for the new monkey enclosure. Although we are only amateur cyclists we are determined to complete the gruelling 963 miles in order to raise the £20,000 that is required to build the new monkey enclosure.”
Hayley Dann, Head of Income Generation and PR stated: “We are very grateful to Sean and his team of cyclists for undertaking such a big challenge. Wild Futures receives no government funding and so events like this are vital in order to raise the necessary funds to help us to continue caring for rescued monkeys.”
The team of cyclists aims to finish on 9th June this year, which coincides with the charity’s annual Adopters’ Day at the Sanctuary. Supporters and adopters will be invited to cheer and congratulate the team on their challenge. If you would like to support Sean and his team’s project in raising funds for the much needed enclosure you can donate at www.justgiving.com/cycle4wildfutures.