Wild Futures voted onto EARS board to help animals in Europe

Last weekend the town of Villena, welcomed members of EARS (European Alliance of Rescue Centres and Sanctuaries) for its second meeting this year. Wild Futures is a founder member of EARS. The city of Villena was chosen for this important meeting due to its proximity to one of the projects included in EARS, APP Primadomus, a centre which cares for a range of animals in need.
The Mayor of Villena, Mr. Francisco Javier Esquembre came along to the meeting to show his support for the alliance.

The aim of the meeting was to finalise the structure and processes for EARS and elect a governing board to oversee the alliance. Wild Futures was voted onto the board by fellow members, taking a lead in helping to design a strategy and make decisions for how EARS will develop.

EARS is made up of 18 rescue centres and sanctuaries from across Europe including those from Italy, Greece, France, Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania. Its mission is to ensure the highest standards of captive care for exotic and wild animals (the majority of them coming from confiscations) and to safeguard their welfare, as well as to work in collaboration with the Governments that form the EU for the protection of animals and their natural habitats.

Rachel Hevesi, Wild Futures Director states: ‘We are delighted to have reached this stage in establishing EARS and have lots of plans for the future. Our next step as a governing board will be to be set up an inspection protocol to regulate standards for members, to ensure they meet the welfare needs of those animals in their care.’