World Animal Day at Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary
Each and every one of us can make a difference for animals. World Animal Day is celebrated annually all over the world, and aims to raise the status of animals in order to improve their welfare standards.
LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, a project by FOUR PAWS South Africa, will be marking the day by celebrating with children from the local community. LIONSROCK provides an appropriate, lifelong home for big cats that were kept in inadequate conditions in zoos, circuses, private captivity or have been victims of the canned lion hunting and lion breeding industry. The sanctuary is situated 18km outside of Bethlehem, in the Free State province of South Africa and houses over 100 big cats from all over the world.
Our vision is a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding; and by educating the youth who live in the immediate area of the sanctuary on this coming World Animal Day, we hope to work towards this important vision.
LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary’s educator will be sharing the day with 50 local children at the Bohlokong New Hall, in Bethlehem, Free State. The focus of this day will be to further instill in them love, respect and understanding for ALL animals. A fun day of educational and awareness activities is planned with games, animal face painting, and exploring animal sounds, movements and behaviour.
LIONSROCK encourages other sanctuaries, animal welfare organizations, community groups, youth and children’s clubs, businesses and individuals to organize their own events in celebration of World Animal Day.
- Contact Name: Gladys Mokwena
- Contact Email: tanya.van.tonder@four-paws.org.za
- Location: Cape Town
- Organised by: Tanya van Tonder
Each and every one of us can make a difference to animals. And after our World Animal Day in Bohlokong, the children who attended our event has hopefully now been inspired to show more humanity towards animals.
World Animal Day is celebrated annually all over the world, and aims to raise the status of animals in order to improve their welfare standards. LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary marked the special day by sharing it with 50 local children (between 6 and 12 years of age) at the Bohlokong New Hall, in Bethlehem, Free State.
We had fun with animal face painting, local games such as bag walking, relay and balloon blowin; and served the children a vegeterian lunch. These kids are a group which the sanctuary has been working with for a five month period and the were also encouraged to create a play based on animals, and the knowledge they have picked up in these few months. It was so interesting to see how they created the play and the important points they illustrated through play, such as the difference between wild and domestic animals, their knowledge of the animal’s food chain, and the different sounds animals make.
For more information on the sanctuary’s education program, and LIONSROCK Big Sanctuary, please follow us on Facebook, and visit our website.