It has been an extraordinarily busy time for animals and animal welfare not only here at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary but all over the world. Here is a quick look at many of the issues happening now and progress that has been made. We must keep pushing forward!

We are heartbroken to have reported that one of our horses, dear 11-year old Sammy, passed away this month. Two years ago, Sammy entered our lives, stepping from an SPCA trailer, calling joyously as he ran to his friends – Apollo, Amani and Crockett. Two wonderful years followed with fond memories of Sammy coming to the door for apples with the others – the best of times.

Each day the horses would roam the 455-acre ADI Wildlife Sanctuary and come into the paddock at night. The sight of the four galloping across the hillside was magical. Freed from tethers and brutal hobbling, they were living as horses should, running free.

While we still mourn the loss of Sammy, today we celebrate this gentle giant and remember the wonderful life that ADI supporters gave him at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. Enjoy the sight of him in this video running free with his friends.

Sloth World Florida, which planned to be the world’s only ‘Slotharium’, recently closed before ever opening to the public after a minimum of 31 sloths died. Some estimate as many as 51 sloth deaths.

ADI contacted Florida state and federal agencies to push towards a full criminal investigation and to strengthen laws regarding facility licensing and the importation of sloths and exotic animals.

Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier has since confirmed a criminal investigation is ongoing.

EXCITING UPDATES – New York state bills A05850/S3629A, to prohibit the use of kangaroos, big cats, primates, bears, and wallabies in a traveling animal act, have passed both houses! After some procedural steps, the bills will go to the Governor’s desk for signature.

If you live in NY, please contact Gov. Kathy Hochul and urge her to sign A05850/S3629A into law.

Illinois banned the use of elephants in traveling animal acts back in 2017. HB 4255, to expand this list to include cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, tigers, primates, and bears, passed the  Senate (51-4) this week and now awaits the Governor’s signature.

If you live in IL, please contact Governor JB Pritzker and urge him to sign HB 4255 into law.

Following decades of campaigning, protests, and mounting public outrage, Jordan World Circus has dropped their elephant act. ADI brought global attention to the rampant abuse elephants suffered in circuses in its 2014 Out of Control Video. The undercover footage at Jordan World Circus showed elephants used for rides fighting while workers frantically tried to control them with bullhooks, metal bars, and stun guns. The video highlights both the danger to the stressed elephants as well as to the public when wild animals are forced to perform for so-called entertainment. A huge thanks to all who spoke out, protested, called venues, and continue to push for legislation to stop circus suffering.

In more good news, there are no elephant rides at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Texas! After years of urging the venue and sharing with them ADI evidence of supplier Trunks and Humps beating and shocking their animals, we are delighted that the Scarborough Renaissance Festival did not have elephant rides this year. These intelligent, social animals endure a lifetime of suffering for these brief rides.

Let’s make sure these rides remain a thing of the past! Please thank the festival for its decision and urge them to make this a permanent policy. Call: 972-938-3247 / Contact form.

The UK government has launched a public consultation on trail hunting — a practice repeatedly used to circumvent the ban on fox hunting (the Hunting Act 2004). This is an important opportunity to close the loopholes and strengthen protections.

The Government needs to hear from YOU by June 18. Have your say and help protect animals – see here for how you can take part.

The Italian animal trainer/presenter Stefano Orfei announced that he will no longer perform with animals. His last performance with a big cat act was at the Rony Roller Circus in Italy in February. It has been reported that he has handed over four lionesses to the Animanatura Wild Sanctuary in Italy. A ban was passed following a campaign ADI was part of including a screening of Lion Ark in the Congress. However, the ban has yet to be enforced. Until this happens, we urge local action and for presenters and circuses worldwide to stop using animals.

Since 2022, two chimps, Austin and Bossou, have been separated from their troop at Dublin Zoo after the introduction of a laboratory-reared male. They remain isolated, deprived of normal social interaction, and housed in an environment that does not reflect their natural habitat.

Chimpanzees are a highly social species and restriction from social interactions impacts both psychological and physical health. ADI is also concerned that the limited environmental complexity in their current habitat is restricting natural explorative behaviors. The zoo has admitted that the situation is “far from ideal” with plans to find a solution in a 2025 report. There has been no update since.

ADI has written to Dublin Zoo but received no response to date. Ask Dublin Zoo directly for an update on the situation.

The Farm Bill passed the House, containing multiple threats to animals, and is now in Senate committee.

ADI opposes: Section 12006 uses language from the Save Our Bacon act (previously the EATS Act) to prevent states from prohibiting the cruel confinement of farmed animals.

Rep. Gosar’s wolf Amendment would undermine protections for wolves by making it easier for ranchers to claim wolf depredation despite lacking evidence.

The fight is not over. The bill must still pass in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and then the entire Senate. Take action here!

When we purchased the land for ADIWS much of it was denuded by agriculture and grazed out. As well as building habitats for our rescued lions and tigers we have been steadily re-wilding the land. We have planted over 200 trees and continue to see an explosion in wildflowers, wildlife, birds, and insects.

Trees must be tall and strong to be a scratching post for a lion or tiger. That’s why we’re hoping to plant more structural trees at ADIWS. Please sponsor a tree for the animals and the environment here! US $, CA $ | UK £, Euros, Rand

The suffering of laboratory animals goes on in secret, behind high-security doors, in commercial testing laboratories, government facilities and universities. Tests on animals are UNRELIABLE, UNETHICAL AND UNNECESSARY, due to species differences, and the impact on results caused by laboratory conditions.

This year for World Day for Laboratory Animals, we urged supporters to contact elected representatives, asking for urgent replacement of animal tests with advanced, non-animal methods.

In Bogotá, ADI Colombia protested outside the headquarters of the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) using images from ADI investigations. They drew attention to the lack of transparency and oversight regarding animal experiments in Colombia and the failure of the Institute to respond to requests for information. The ADI campaign in Colombia is at a critical stage with the implementation of the ban secured on cosmetics testing on animals, which includes a requirement to use non-animal methods in all areas of research when available.

As seen in our video, around the world, animals are burnt, blinded, poisoned, infected with diseases, and mutilated. They live their lives in small, barren cages, suffering fear, pain, and death in experiments when advanced, human-relevant methods are available.

Write to your MP / Write to your Congressperson

The UK government states that it wants to “encourage farmers” to move from mutilation exemptions such as tail docking. This is a painful process that many farmers perform on piglets without any anesthetic. However, encouragement isn’t enforcement. UK law states tail docking should be a last resort, yet it occurs on around 85% of farms. Other countries, including Finland and Sweden, have prohibited tail docking. This proves change is possible. If all mutilation is banned, then welfare standards will be forced to improve. ADI has written to MPs demanding clarity and enforcement regarding the animal welfare strategy.

You can help too. Write to your MP to demand enforcement, not exemptions. See also our webpage for a detailed overview of ADI’s response to the government’s animal welfare strategy and more ways to help push for change.

ADI has submitted a proposal to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) calling for the phase-out of outdated animal-based drug safety tests. These include the rabbit pyrogen test (RPT) and horseshoe crab blood test, which are still used to detect contaminants that cause fever.

Modern human-relevant alternatives now exist, including the Monocyte Activation Test (MAT) and recombinant Factor C (rFC), which are more accurate, sustainable and humane.

With the RPT already removed from the European Pharmacopeia, we are urging the U.S. to not fall behind.

ADI is also drafting letters to the FDA and Congress to push for wider regulatory change.

Please contact the USP and urge them to remove any references to the rabbit pyrogen test.

The 2026 Pima County Fair in Tucson, Arizona, hosted a number of cruel animal acts: Sea Lion Splash, pig races, pony rides, bird and reptile shows, and a petting zoo. Horrifyingly, this year they also invited back Brunon Blaszak and his tigers. Blaszak claims his demeaning cat act is educational. A tiger walking a tightrope or performing other tricks does nothing to teach people about the intelligence, sentience, and communications of tigers, or how they live in the wild and what they need. This is not the life nature intended for any of these animals.

Help us stop this suffering! Please contact the Pima County Fair today and ask them to no longer host wild animal acts. Call: 520-762-9100 / Email / Facebook / Contact form

The Banana Derby is a cruel spectacle featuring capuchin monkeys strapped onto dogs “like jockeys” as the dogs race around makeshift tracks. Monkeys belong in trees, not tied to the backs of dogs. Disappointingly, the Lawrenceville Spring Fair hosted this horrific event at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds in Georgia. Contact the fair, fairgrounds, and city government and urge them not to host the Banana Derby anymore and to adopt an animal-free entertainment policy!

Lawrenceville Spring Fair: Message them on social media: Facebook / Instagram / Contact form (on their homepage)

Gwinnett County Fairgrounds: Call: 770-963-6522 / Email 

City of Lawrenceville, GA: Call: 678-407-6675 / Email / Contact form

Also, please urge your Congress members to support and co-sponsor the Captive Primate Safety Act, to ban public contact with and the keeping of primates as pets, as well as ban foreign and interstate trade of such species in the US.

Contact ADI if you see Banana Derby or similar acts coming to your hometown.

ADIWS recently had a veterinary and dental day with Dr. Peter Caldwell and Prof. Gerhard Steenkamp performing procedures on Kimba (pictured), Coco, and Mahla.

The three lions, rescued from different circuses in Guatemala and Peru, had their teeth cleaned and polished and Kimba and Coco each had a damaged incisor tooth removed by Prof. Steenkamp. Dr. Peter Caldwell darted the lions for the procedures, performed thorough veterinary examinations, took blood samples, and gave vitamin and supplement injections. Kimba also had an eye examination and was referred to a specialist for review. 

It was a day of routine health care and maintenance for lions rescued from years of abuse in circuses, which leaves them with lifelong compromised bodies. If you missed it, you can catch up on our YouTube channel here.

Last year the UK government finally announced licences for private ownership of primates with the aim of making standards comparable to those of zoos. These came into effect on April 6^th, 2026. ADI remains disappointed that the government failed to enact stronger measures, systematically phasing out primate pets instead of attempting to regulate this unnecessary industry. There are no conservation or welfare benefits to keeping these intelligent animals confined for private entertainment in a country with an unsuitable climate. Yet the government has chosen to take on the cost of regulating a practice which neither benefits animals nor people.

ADI considers every primate species to almost always be unsuitable for private ownership due to complex social, behavioral and dietary needs.

If you are aware of any privately owned primate pets, please let us know.

In the UK, two horses needlessly died at the three-day Grand National Festival and not long after another was sadly euthanized at Sandown. In the U.S., three horses died at Keeneland racetrack during the track’s recent festivities leading up to their Derby Day. This is the disturbing and tragic reality of this cruel sport, while these beautiful, sentient individuals are being pushed to literally race for their lives. Please say no to placing a bet on horse races and encouraging others to do the same.

Etsy announced that as of August 11, 2026, vendors will no longer be allowed to sell fur products on the platform. This announcement came in addition to another policy update that also prohibited products made from animal species designated as threatened or endangered. These are important steps forward for protecting animals and moving towards a fur-free, cruelty-free world.

Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to these new policies that will allow the continued sale of a host of animal-derived oddities. Though many might think of Etsy as a marketplace for small trinkets, jewelry, art, and the like, they also have listings for collections of eyeballs in jars (bobcat, coyote, raccoon, cow, etc.), wet specimens (baby otters, baby rabbits, lambs, piglets, octopus, etc.), bulk baby chicken heads, animals posed in crude ways or using crude substances, and much more.

Ask Etsy to take a stand for ALL animals and to extend their new Animal Products Policy to encompass these other ‘products.’

Message Etsy on Facebook and message their CEO Kruti Patel Goyal on LinkedIn.

LA has been on the verge of confirming a rodeo ban since it passed the council unanimously in 2023. Rodeos using animals are already banned in other Californian cities, including Pasadena, Irvine, Laguna Woods, and Chino Hills. Alameda and Clark Counties have also passed specific bans related to rodeo activities. Help us end this cruelty, such awful displays of brutality to animals should never be entertainment.

Urge the LA City Council to finally hear and pass the rodeo ban! Leave a public comment. For LA residents, you can also find and contact your City Councilmember directly.

The majority of the French public want to see an end to animal testing. Additionally, the EU has committed to ending experiments on primates and instead utilizing advanced non-animal methods (NAMs). Despite this, the French Government continues to plan on expanding the Rousset Primatology Station into a national primatology centre. This expansion would triple the station’s capacity to 1,800 primates for testing, cost €31 million which could be used to create a centre to validate NAMs, just as the UK recently announced, and commit France to outdated methods for years to come. ADI has written to French officials urging them to reconsider this expansion which goes against the majority of their people’s beliefs.

Percy and Daisy were found injured and frightened in a ditch – Percy’s leg was badly broken and he was rushed to Johannesburg Wildlife Hospital where they were able to mend the break. Then, thanks to your contributions, these two adorable springboks were brought to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary’s new Non-Predator Reception Area (NPRA) to recover! 

Due to their injuries, being imprinted on people, and where they came from being unclear, they will not be able to be released into the wild, but when they are fit enough Percy and Daisy will be able to roam freely across the Sanctuary enjoying hundreds of acres of natural habitat alongside our other free-ranging antelope, horses and donkeys.

These small, gentle, antelope, closely related to gazelles, are often the targets of cowardly trophy hunters seeking to mount their heads or horns on a wall or use their hides as rugs.

Orcas Wikie and Keijo and 12 bottlenose dolphins have been left stranded in the now closed Marineland Antibes. Over a year since the park’s closure, not only are the tanks deteriorating but so is the welfare of these forgotten animals. Whilst the banning of cetacean (dolphins & whales) shows in France has been celebrated as a huge win for these species, there has been no clear contingency plan for the relocation of the animals still inhabiting the abandoned park.

In February, ADI wrote to the French Ministère de la Transition écologique offering advice and support on the fate of Wikie and Keijo and the dolphins and getting them sent to sanctuary, with no response. A statement released in February noted a decision would be made by the end of March. With this deadline having passed ADI followed up, again with no response. Several proposals for translocation have been denied due to varying political variables. The Minister for Ecology Mathieu Lefèvre has now announced plans to transfer Wikie and Keijo to Loro Parque in Spain by the end of June, citing the situation as a vital emergency. This is not a rescue, it is the continuation of a life in captivity. Learn more about the cruelties of cetacean captivity here.

Help us continue with our campaigns and rescue work.

Yesterday was a veterinary and dental day at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary with Dr. Peter Caldwell and Prof. Gerhard Steenkamp performing procedures on Kimba, Coco, and Mahla.

The three lions, rescued from different circuses in Guatemala and Peru, had their teeth cleaned and polished and Kimba and Coco each had a damaged incisor tooth removed by Prof. Steenkamp. Dr Peter Caldwell darted the lions for the procedures, performed thorough veterinary examinations, took blood samples, and gave vitamin and supplement injections. Kimba also had an eye examination and referred for specialist review. 

The day allowed us to tackle the basic wear and tear on the animals’ teeth – Mahla and Coco were rescued by ADI almost 12 years ago and Kimba 8 years ago – a reminder of how the vital work caring for these animals continues long after they are rescued, and inevitably, the cost of that care of their bodies compromised by early-age malnutrition and inbreeding.

Many animals in captivity suffer for years in painful silence, due to broken and infected teeth. Teeth are deliberately smashed with metal bars when animals like lions challenge trainers, and are broken as they desperately bite the bars to try to escape their tiny prisons.

We remember dear Leo, who lived to old age at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, had suffered all four canine teeth broken off in the circus, and who can forget Colo Colo, the angry star of the film ‘Lion Ark’ whose pain was finally relieved by renowned veterinary dentist Dr Peter Emily.

Aside from the pain these animals endure, untreated, the infections can be lethal. I remember a small capuchin we saved from a Peruvian circus who had pus erupting under each eye from infected teeth, which had been deliberately snapped off in the circus. Lion Junior was in a similar state, pus erupting from his face – emergency surgery saved both.

Our dental teams will perform dozens of root canal procedures following our rescues, like the hours of surgery with tiny root canals on Pepe the spider monkey, whose canines had all been snapped off by the circus to prevent him from biting his abusers; and the much larger, similar procedures on old Leo.

This care of these animals does not end after the seizures from a lifetime of abuse, the airlifts, and stepping free on African soil. It is ongoing, for decades.

It has been eight long years of struggle since we started building the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. The rescues and campaigns for legal protection for animals had to continue across continents as we built our forever home for the survivors of the entertainment industry. We had to save many animals in a relatively short space of time, while completing construction of basic facilities. As we look to the future, and support our campaigns for ending the use of animals in entertainment with the ADIWS as a safe, secure home where our residents rights, intelligence, emotions and physical needs are respected, we are now looking towards having our own on-site veterinary facilities at the Sanctuary.

Yesterday’s procedures were performed in a makeshift surgical area but our goal is to have the funds to build a fully equipped veterinary clinic at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. At present we must travel 3 hours to take animals to hospital, we want to provide the best wildlife veterinary care on site enabling veterinarians and their assistants to come here.

What price relieving an old warrior like Kimba of toothache?

More details will follow, and we will launch major appeals for each aspect of the plans for the facilities, but please consider a donation today, to invest in long term veterinary care at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, our place of loving kindness for those we have rescued from the horror of the abuse and cruelty of circuses and other entertainment. We hope to also utilise the veterinary surgery for outreach to the local community about animal care, and also, as part of our future education programme/program.

If you can contribute towards the daily care of these precious individuals who have suffered so much: Donate US $, CA $ | Donate UK £, Euros, Rand

PS: Don’t forget adopting one of our residents is a great way of helping with their day-to-day needs, including veterinary care, find out more here: ADI US store | UK store adoptions

I am deeply saddened that one of our horses, dear 11-year old Sammy, passed away this week. After two blissful years at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, Sammy’s body was breaking down from the injuries he sustained before his rescue, we had to make the kindest decision for him, while the hardest on all of us.

Two years ago, Sammy entered our lives, stepping from an SPCA trailer, calling joyously as he ran to his friends – Apollo, Amani and Crockett. I shall miss the sight of him gently grazing nearby, roaming the sanctuary with his friends, and coming to our door to ask for apples – the best of times.

When he was younger, Sammy was found with a broken fetlock, abandoned near the mines. Virginia SPCA rescued him, fixed his fetlock as best possible, and gave him a nice paddock where he lived for nine years. Then, two years ago, they had an emergency seizure of three horses being cruelly treated in a local township. With only temporary space for three more horses, they asked if the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary could take Apollo, Amani and young foal, Crockett. We said yes, and the three came to ADIWS, but there was a twist.

That evening as our new horse residents grazed at ADIWS, we received a call from the SPCA. Sammy was distressed, he was missing his friends. We said “yes, of course he must come with his friends”, so the next morning, the SPCA horse box was back. Sammy stepped out and as he turned and saw the others he called out, ran to them, rubbing noses with Apollo in greeting. Our gentle giant found his forever home.

Each day the horses would roam our 455-acre sanctuary and come into the paddock at night. The sight of the four galloping across the hillside was magical. Freed from tethers and brutal hobbling, they were living as horses should, running free.

Watch the video of Sammy’s arrival and, best of all, the four horses charging across the hillside at ADIWS, truly running free.

However, several months ago, Sammy’s fetlock began to break down. We provided regular veterinary attention and restricted his activity, at first bringing him in earlier than the others, and eventually keeping him in the paddock in the new Non-Predator Reception Area, where he would be joined by his three friends every evening, until morning. By March, we realized dear Sammy’s time would be limited, as the veterinarian said with the right care, he could have a few more quality months. Sadly, it was not as long as we had hoped, and Sammy’s overall health deteriorated.  We knew it was time to say “goodbye”.

All of us who have animals in our lives, especially those that have be saved from abuse, know that it can be the hardest decision to make to end their suffering and let them pass with dignity, but it was the kindest thing to do for Sammy. He was loved.

We informed Virginia SPCA who kindly said “Thank you for the beautiful life Sammy lived with ADI. We will always be grateful.”

These powerful animals are often treated as beasts of burden, run to exhaustion for ‘sport’, and used in circuses, they suffer in stoic silence.  If you would like to make a donation to care for the horses at ADIWS in memory of Sammy, please click here: US $, CA $ | £, Euros, Rand.

We will never forget Sammy, his strong, calm presence, and the sight of him running with his herd, grazing amongst the flowers, or wading through the lake.  Our thanks to all the ADI supporters who helped give this gentle, battered horse a chance at a new life, running free for his final years.

It’s important to remind everyone that we remain on stand-by to move lions Ori and BenTzur from Israel, as soon as flights become available. Despite the ceasefire announced this week, uncertainty remains in the region and public airspace has not yet been reopened. The good news is that the boys are safe, and their travel crates have been delivered ready for their move to their forever home.

Our 2.5-acre quarantine unit is still occupied for an indefinite period by lionesses Lei-ah and Elsa while their fire-damaged sanctuary recovers, so we are creating a new 2.5-acre lion habitat with two new lion houses, for BenTzur and Ori’s forever home. We are spending around $30,000 on construction of the new habitat and house, and once cargo flights resume, we are expecting there will be high demand and dramatic cost rises. So, we have increased our budget for their rescue and lifetime care to $100,000.

I am so very grateful for everyone’s support – the impact on oil costs is already seeing flight costs rising, and we’ve had several increases in fuel prices in South Africa, so we are now storing extra supplies. Thankfully, ADIWS is solar powered, but we still need fuel for the hybrid vehicles and farm machinery. Your support is more important than ever. 

Like the rest of the world, we are all hoping for peace and will try and move Ben-Tzur and Ori at the very first opportunity. If you can help us fund this unexpected rescue at this worrying time, please donate here LINK

GREAT NEWS! Heythrop Zoological Gardens in Oxfordshire, trading as Amazing Animals, suppliers of animals for films and TV, has finally closed. Amazing Animals provided animals for films like Harry Potter and Fierce Creatures, for pop videos, and countless adverts. ADI investigations revealed: lions beaten during training sessions; a screaming mandrill pinned down, its prolapsed rectum brutally pushed into place (commonly believed to be the result of training for hind leg walking); lions, tigers, and bears living in tiny barren cages, like laboratory-type conditions; providing the Bobby Roberts’ Super Circus elephant, Anne, for adverts (Roberts was subsequently convicted of cruelty to Anne, based on ADI video evidence).

This closure represents another milestone in the campaign to end the use of performing animals, an entertainment industry exposed and responding to public disapproval, now increasingly turning its back on cruelty.  Find out more about this important victory.

Joe Exotic appeal denied: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Joseph Maldonado-Passage, (Joe Exotic of controversial Netflix series ‘Tiger King’ notoriety). So, he will continue to serve his 21-year prison sentence on murder-for-hire and wildlife-related charges. Maldonado-Passage’s lengthy sentence was primarily for plotting to have sanctuary owner Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue killed (ADI collaborated with BCR and Carole to rescue tigers from Peru and Guatemala and securing the Big Cat Safety Act). Prosecutors also established that Maldonado-Passage shot and buried animals on his property and illegally transported tigers across state lines. Supporters will also recall the horrific scenes in ‘Tiger King’ as he dragged tiger cubs from their mother, even as she gave birth.

A facility with capacity to house 1,800 primates is planned by France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) which would triple monkey experiments in France. ADI contacted MEPs, government officials and CNRS, providing evidence that the facility would fly in the face of current scientific developments, trends and regulatory objectives in the EU, UK and US, as well as public opinion. Despite their own ethics committee agreeing with many of our points, CNRS seems determined to press ahead with the proposals.  ADI fears that the 31million Euro investment will lock France into archaic monkey experiments for decades to come. Get involved.

Unprecedented flooding on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast resulted in lives lost, homes destroyed, and wild animals displaced from their natural habitats. But while most people mobilized to help the victims, organizers of ‘corralejas’ (where bulls are attacked with weapons by people on foot and horseback) pressed ahead with the cruelty, wasting precious emergency services resources.

ADI Colombia is exposing these cruel events while fighting attempts to overturn the bullfighting ban before it comes into force. Good news is that an expanded version of Law 2385 (comes into force 2028) which bans Spanish-style bullfighting, now includes corralejas, cockfights, and coleo (where a rider chases a bull and pulls it over by the tail). The campaign is at a critical stage, with bullfighting interests launching multiple legal challenges to the law.

13 horses have died at Southern California tracks in the first three months of the year, California Horse Racing Board reports eight at Santa Anita Park and five at Los Alamitos Race Course. There were also four deaths in just four days at the UK’s Cheltenham Festival – in the past five years, over 150 horses a year have died during or immediately after races in Great Britain, with thousands more sustaining serious injuries. 60% of foals bred for racing will never race. This means of 11,943 foals born in 2025, over 7,000 would be discarded, either sold to slaughter, other owners, or exported to countries with poorer welfare standards or shelters. Do not attend racing events or bet on horse racing, the profits feed directly back into the industry, guaranteeing the suffering of countless horses.

New York State is considering a ban on big cats, kangaroos, primates, bears, and wallabies in traveling circuses following their 2017 ban on elephant acts.  Sponsored by Assemblymember Deborah Glick, ADI has submitted testimony in support of bill A5850. A companion bill, S3629A, sponsored by Senator Nathalia Fernandez, is on the Senate floor, though a hearing date has not yet been set.

If you live in NY, Contact your Assemblymember and urge them to support A5850 to ban traveling animal acts.  If you don’t live in NY, urge your members of Congress to support the reintroduction of the Traveling Exotic Animal & PUBLIC SAFETY Protection Act (TEAPSPA).

150 elephants, 12 black rhinos and 11 leopards would be killed under 2026-2027 hunting export quotas reintroduced by South Africa’s Environment Minister, Willie Aucamp. ADI is opposing the decision – see our response and learn more here.

Colombia’s Congressional candidates debated the legislative agenda at the Fourth Forum on Animal Protection organized by ADI Latin America, the Animal Observatory, and the Animal Protection Group of Javeriana University. The forum emphasized the need for effective laws for animals and the resources to enforce such laws. In recent years, Colombia has made significant progress in animal protection legislation including banning cosmetic testing on animals, animal use in riot control, and bullfighting.

Foie gras is one of the cruelest practices in farming, with ducks and geese force-fed huge amounts of grain several times a day, causing their livers to become hugely swollen, fatty, painful and making the birds ill. Once their livers reach twice the normal size and more than 10 times the normal weight, the birds are slaughtered. Rhode Island and Washington state both currently have bills to prohibit excessive feeding for, and selling, foie gras.

If you live in RI, please contact your RI legislators and urge their support on HB 7718 and SB 2353. Find your RI legislators here. If you live in WA, please contact your WA assembly member and urge their support on HB 1735.

Victory! Wales and Scotland pass greyhound racing bans. Wales became the first UK nation to make it illegal to run races or operate tracks – ending an activity long associated with injuries, suffering, and death for dogs. Scotland’s bill passed the next day. Momentum is building and ADI urges other countries to follow suit and put an end to this cruelty once and for all.

A lawsuit before Colombia’s Constitutional Court is calling for the country’s law banning wild animals in circuses to be expanded to domesticated animals (dogs, horses etc.). ADI Colombia supports the lawsuit, which argues that the omission of some animals violates the original intent of the legislation prohibiting the use of all animals in circuses. Passed in 2013, Law 1638/13 marked Colombia’s first animal protection law under the existing Constitution. A significant milestone, it ended wild animals in circuses across the country, with ADI rescuing nine lions.

Proposed revisions to the U.S. Endangered Species Act would allow economics to become a factor in the decision making of protected species listings; narrow the definition of “critical habitat” to exclude currently unoccupied but historic habitat; require species-specific rules to be created rather than the current blanket protection rules, so newly listed species would no longer be automatically protected; reinstate previous framework definitions for interagency cooperation, making it easier for federal agencies to greenlight projects such as mining, drilling, and logging.

Please urge your member of Congress to oppose these harmful and outdated revisions to the Endangered Species Act here.

At ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, Dr. Willem Daffue examined horse Sammy and donkey Jack in our new Non-Predator Reception Area (NPRA). Sammy arrived at ADIWS with an injured fetlock, which was treated, along with a wound on his back. Dr. Daffue also castrated young Jack, one of our herd of ten donkeys.

Even with animals who usually roam freely across ADIWS during the day, it is important to have facilities where we can get close for veterinary procedures or keep them inside when unwell, so thank you to everyone who supported the construction of the NPRA – although not quite finished yet and is already vital to the welfare of our residents!

The Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Dade City, Florida, with elephant rides provided by Lauryn Murray using Essex the elephant has just concluded. Intelligent and social animals, elephants endure a lifetime of suffering for a brief ride. Help make sure they don’t reappear next year!

Please send a polite message and call the Festival urging them to no longer host elephant rides and pledge to keep their festival free of performing wild animals. Call: (352) 999-5946 Email: info@bayarearenfest.com

Dunn County Pioneer Day event in Ridgeland, Wisconsin, includes a “chicken toss”, where terrified chickens are thrown off the roof of a building for spectators to try to catch, as well as young piglets are covered in grease, then terrorized as children chase them through the street in freezing temperatures. Organized abuse of animals for entertainment is uncivilized. Come on Wisconsin, you can do better than this!  Please contact Tim Lauffer, Dunn County Board Supervisor and urge them to end this cruelty: Call: (715) 962-3869, Contact form.

Again this year, ADI Wildlife Sanctuary residents, saved from circuses, zoos, and the illegal wildlife pet trade around the world, went wild for their Easter boxes! Watch (or watch again!) here.

Live from the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. If you missed any of our Facebook lives in March, you can catch up on all the highlights here.

To help us continue with our campaigns and rescue work, please donate here.

We never need any excuse for giving the rescued lions and tigers at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary extra treats and it has become a tradition to mark special days and holidays from Valentine’s Day to Easter with themed toys.

These animals saved from suffering in circuses and the illegal pet trade are now having the time of their lives – enjoy our gallery below and check out the video here.

Wishing you and your family an Easter filled with as much joy as the lions and tigers found in their holiday treats!

To help us provide lifetime care for these sweet animals and support and help our vital education campaigns to end the suffering once and for all: donate US $, CA $ | donate £, Euros, Rand.

Sometimes, it’s worth stopping to take a breath and look back at just how far we’ve come and the legacy that ADI is creating for animals.

Our sanctuary in South Africa, our rescue facilities in Peru and the animals we have returned to the wild are manifestations of what we have achieved and our ongoing work for change; animals saved emptying the circus cages, from the animal traffickers, from laboratories and the illegal trophy pet trade.

But perhaps most important of all are the results of the decades doing the hard, unglamorous, essential research, investigations and campaigning that leads to lasting change for animals, saving countless animals from suffering.

The animals at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary like Rey Cusco, Kiara, Mahla, Scarc, Chino, Coco, Max, Stripes, Tomas, Kimba Goliath, Coralie, and many more are not with us because of a change of heart amongst the owners who caged them, but because laws were secured to end their suffering. Their cages were emptied by ADI forever.

Our supporters are part of this story and I wanted to share just some of what we’ve achieved together:

• Circus bans across the world — ADI’s investigations and campaigns have secured bans on wild animals all over the world, including US states, the UK, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Singapore, Costa Rica, Gautemala and many more. What once seemed impossible, is now law in over 50 countries.

• Historic rescue missions — when Bolivia banned all animals in circuses, the circuses defied the law, and ADI stepped up to do something that no one had attempted before. We set up a temporary animal facility in a country where there was none, we tracked down and raided every circus, we saved and relocated every animal.  We did the same in Peru and Colombia, saving over 100 animals and airlifting 33 animals to South Africa. Then we did it again in Guatemala.

• Wildlife protection and anti-trafficking work — from South America to Africa and beyond, ADI works alongside governments and law enforcement to protect wild animals in their natural habitats, saving and returning to the wild hundreds of animals – tortoises, birds, monkeys, bears. More than that, we secured regulations in over 190 countries (using the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) closing the loopholes circuses used for trafficking animals across borders with impunity.

• Unlocking the labs — ADI ended the use of apes and wild caught monkeys in labs across the EU and has secured bans on cosmetics testing on animals in many countries. We saved millions of animals from horrific tests proposed in EU regulations, thanks to our ‘Keep animals out of REACH’ campaign which secured compulsory data sharing.

• Ground-breaking undercover investigations — ADI’s footage has changed minds in parliaments and congresses, courtrooms, and dinner tables, exposing cruelty that industries hoped would stay hidden forever. Had it not been for our undercover evidence and footage, there would not be the bans on circus animals, the trappers terrorising and capturing monkeys for laboratories would still be plying their vile trade.

None of this happened by accident. It happened because people like you refused to look away.

If ADI’s work has ever moved you — if you’ve ever shared one of our rescue videos, signed a petition, or simply felt relief knowing someone was fighting for these animals — please consider making a donation today. Every contribution, large or small, funds the next investigation, the next rescue, the next law that changes everything. 

Donate here: UK £, Euros, Rand | US $, CA $

Please also consider the most important thing you can do today, is to make a commitment to help animals in the future.  By leaving bequest in your will, you are helping to ensure that our work continues long into the future. You are investing in a future for animals.

A legacy gift allows you to make a lasting difference without affecting your finances today.

The young lions we are working to bring from Israel could be in ADI care for over 20 years, like the youngsters we saved from Kuwait – ADI must be there for them. The baby tortoises we are nurturing for release at ADIWS could outlive many of us!

I am proud of what we have achieved for animals, but there is still much more to do – that is why Tim and I have included ADI in our wills, to ensure the fight continues to end all animal suffering at human hands.

Please consider including ADI in your will and make your legacy their freedom. A bequest now will not impact you today, but could make the world of difference for animals in the future.  You can find out more about leaving a legacy to animals here: UK | US (FreeWill)

I am writing from our sanctuary in South Africa where Tim and I were expecting to be making the final preparations to bring home lion cubs Ben-Tzur and Ori from Israel. That operation remains on standby as the war continues, but we urgently need help to fund this unexpected rescue. In the meantime, ADI’s life-saving work and rescue efforts around the globe are ongoing.

We rescued sweet Chaska (meaning ‘bright star’ in the region’s indigenous language) as a baby from wildlife traffickers in Peru. Just like the lion cubs we are rescuing in Israel, Chaska was a victim of the selfish desire to have an exotic animal as a pet – no matter how inappropriate or the suffering caused.

We took Chaska to the ADI monkey facilities at Pilpintuwasi in the Peruvian rainforest where we reunited her with her own kind, along with Fausto, a woolly monkey rescued by ADI from a restaurant.  You can watch her rescue in Monkey’s Miracle video.

The rescue was part of ADI’s ongoing work against animal trafficking in Peru which has seen us rescue hundreds of animals, including monkeys, turtles and birds as well as running education and awareness campaigns to end the trade.

It is a cruel industry that sees baby animals like Chaska and Fausto, stolen from their mothers, who are frequently killed in the process, and taken for a life of isolation in a small cage or on a chain.  Many of the monkeys we have rescued suffered their teeth being broken off to prevent them biting, as they are handed around like toys for photographs by their captors. For profit.

Sadly, Fausto passed away, and so we began to look for the best options for Chaska, and an opportunity arose for her to not only to be with her own kind, but also the chance of returning to the wild – always our dream, but rarely possible!

In another challenging relocation, Chaska was taken by river, road and air to Ikamaperu’s Tarangué sanctuary in the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve, Peru’s largest nature reserve in the Amazon basin. Chaska is already back with her own kind and if all goes well she will be rehabilitated into the wild with a new family. Tim and I visited the site and remember the trees full of wild monkeys as we walked through the forest around the rehabilitation location.

ADI has also rescued two more capuchins and a coati from the illegal wildlife trade in different regions of Peru.

Infant white capuchin, Miguel, was found by police, alone in a building in the Yanahuara district, Arequipa, and has made the 800-mile journey to the ADI facilities at Pilpintuwasi – another baby stolen from his parents by the traffickers; he clung to his blanket throughout the journey.

Miguel has moved into Chaska and Fausto’s old home, and the good news is he will soon be joined by another young capuchin named Alfred, seized from traffickers in Chachapoyas, a town towards the western edge of the Peruvian rainforest.

Our family of coati mundis at Pilpintuwasi has been joined by Chanchita, who was confiscated in Moyobamba on the western side of Peru’s forest, another sad reminder that wherever human populations encroach on wild spaces, wildlife is at risk and hunting and trafficking remain a serious threat to wildlife across Latin America.

However, thanks to our supporters we are fighting back for the animals, enforcing and strengthening laws and transforming the lives of animals. Chaska might be one of the very lucky ones that gets to go back to the wild.

Please help us provide lifetime care for the animals we rescue in Latin America, and fund relocations back to the wild where possible – keep supporting and helping our VITAL education campaigns to end the suffering once and for all. Donate UK £, Euros, Rand | Donate US $, CA $

I am pleased to bring you the latest on our campaigns for animals around the world and activities at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa. This work is only possible with your support. 

Israel lion rescue update: Since January, we have been working on the relocation of two young lions, Ben-Tzur and Ori, seized from the illegal pet trade by Israel’s Nature & Parks Authority. In early February, we visited Israel to evaluate the cubs, location, transport, and arranged purchase of two travel crates as they had outgrown the ones previously allocated to them. We were just one import permit away from securing flights and bringing them home to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa in March, when war broke out between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

Air space in the region was immediately closed, flights grounded, cargo and aircraft frozen part way through routes. We are thankful we did not find ourselves stuck at an airport for days, even weeks, with two lions in travel crates.  

Although it is too early to say exactly when, and how, we will do it, we will absolutely bring these boys home to ADIWS as soon as possible. The team in Israel report that the boys are safe for now, but this is a dangerous and volatile situation, so we are on standby for any opportunity. We expect the disruption in flights and a backlog of cargo may result in higher costs, but we are sure you will agree that we must seize the first opportunity to bring them home. We therefore need your support for this immediate rescue, and for the lifelong care of these lions. Please give what you can here: Donate US $, CA $ | Donate UK £, Euros, Rand.

Victory for rabbits! After more than 100 years of suffering, the outdated rabbit pyrogen test is finally set to become obsolete in the UK. The test was developed in 1912 to measure what substances induce fever (pyrogens). Rabbits are immobilised in stocks and injected with substances while their temperature is monitored with a rectal thermometer. By the 1940s this crude test had been locked into regulations all over the world and so it continued, despite availability of alternatives.

Elimination of the tests by the end of 2025 was one of the first targets of the government’s ‘Roadmap’ on animal experiments, but the UK Home Office’s Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) remain a little vague as to whether this has happened. When questioned last month by ADI, they responded, “We are on track… an update will be published later this year.”  Since we are two months past the deadline, “on track” does not seem feasible. Nevertheless, ADI will be pushing for the tests to be outlawed elsewhere, including the U.S. and Colombia.  

In the UK, please write your MP today and demand clarity on the status of the test.

An illegal ‘Pamplonada’ (running of bulls in the streets) and bullfight took place in Peru in February, promoted by the Lima Municipality of Rímac. Large numbers of children were in attendance, contrary to repeated calls to protect children from violent spectacles such as bullfights. A lawsuit was filed arguing that the bull run violated Animal Welfare Law 30407, and members of Peru Without Bullfighting (Perú Sin Toreo) protested outside the Public Prosecutor’s Office.   

Indonesia has become one of the first countries in Asia to ban elephant rides for tourism and commercial entertainment. The ban applies to registered conservation institutions such as the Bali Zoo, where rides were a regular feature until last month. This is an important step for elephant welfare in Asia. Elephants used for rides are subjected to cruel training and control methods, leading to painful injuries, and their backs are not suited for heavy loads. ADI urges others to follow suit and for travel companies to end all promotion of elephant rides globally. Never support elephant rides.   

The San Diego Rodeo took place at the PETCO stadium despite increased opposition, a call for a rodeo ban, the loss of funding from the San Diego Tourism Marketing District and recent charges of animal cruelty and abuse. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to instruct the City Attorney to draft an amended ordinance prohibiting rodeos in December 2023, and we are still waiting for it. 

If you live in San Diego, please contact the chair of the San Diego Land Use and Housing Committee, to urge them to stop the San Diego Rodeo from operating in the city: Kent Lee (Chair): 619-236-6616 / KentLee@sandiego.gov 

And in Los Angeles, please submit a public comment urging the City Council to hear and pass the rodeo ban.  

Despite strong objections, the UK government has voted to include the life sciences industry as a ‘key national infrastructure’ within the Public Order Act, providing animal testing laboratories with increased protection against protestors, who will be at risk of fines and up to 12 months’ imprisonment if deemed disruptive. ADI advocated against this draconian amendment and though this outcome is a massive disappointment, it will not silence the voices raised against vivisection.   

Numerous countries have restricted public access to fireworks, why hasn’t the UK/US? Such restrictions would still allow the public to enjoy fireworks on celebratory days, while minimizing the significant harms to companion and wild animals, the environment, the risk of injuries, and disturbances caused by increasingly frequent firework use. Please urge your local MP / Representative to call for action.

After a four-year delay, Colombia has published a draft decree to implement its cosmetic testing ban. ADI presented evidence to a government consultation to enforce Law 2047/20 prohibiting the testing of cosmetics products and ingredients on animals, and the import and sale of animal-tested cosmetics. Importantly, the law incorporates another provision, that non-animal methods to be used when available in all research, which was secured thanks to campaigning by ADI Colombia. 

Washington State has reintroduced a bill to prohibit force feeding birds for foie gras and selling foie gras. Foie gras is one of the cruelest farming practices, with ducks and geese force-fed huge amounts of grain several times a day, causing their livers to swell up and become sick and distended. Once their livers reach twice the normal size and more than 10 times normal weight, they are killed. Immense suffering for a so-called luxury product made from a bird’s diseased, fatty liver. 

If you live in WA, please contact your WA assembly member and urge their support on HB 1735. 

Watch (or watch again!) our ADIWS residents, saved from circuses, the illegal pet trade, and wildlife traffickers, receiving some extra love this Valentine’s. Fun-loving treats enjoyed by our lions and tigers included boxes filled with catnip, lavender, perfume, and even donkey droppings! Coralie and Goliath enjoyed their first Valentine’s Day at the Sanctuary and only had eyes for one another. 

The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), is holding a public consultation regarding the caging of laying hens. Currently, only battery cages (pictured), extremely small cages which almost completely restrict movement, are banned, and only for keepers with more than 350 hens. The amendments under review aim to ban battery cages for all laying hens and to phase out enriched ‘colony’ cages by 2032. Anyone can take part in this consultation, find details here: https://bit.ly/helpcagedhens.  

Paraguay’s new National Registry of Animal Abusers recognizes domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, as sentient and has established a framework for their protection. The new law includes that it is an offence to abandon them, prohibits their use where they would be killed, injured, or abused, outlaws bestiality, regulates certain breeding facilities selling animals, increases fines and sentences up to six years in prison for the most serious cases. This is an important precedent for the country.   

The Bay Area Renaissance Festival is underway right now and is once again offering elephant rides. It is a myth that elephants are trained with kindness and reward; the tools of the trade include electric prods, metal bars, whips, bullhooks, deprivation, and intimidation. There is nothing harmless about it. These intelligent, social animals endure a lifetime of suffering for a brief ride. 

This festival continues through March 29. Please send a polite message or call them today, urging them to no longer host elephant rides and pledge to keep their festival free of performing wild animals. Call: (352) 999-5946 | Email: info@bayarearenfest.com 

If you live in the area and are interested in hosting an outreach event, contact us at usa@ad-international.org. 

For over 20 years trail hunting in the UK has been a smokescreen for illegal hunting, undermining protections in the Hunting Act 2004.  ADI and fellow members of the Time for Change Coalition Against Hunting protested outside 10 Downing Street to urge UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to launch the government’s long-promised consultation on hunting laws, without delay. Backed by over 36,000 supporters, we delivered an open letter calling for a ban on trail hunting – time to close the loophole.

Construction of the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary’s new Non-Predator Reception Area (NPRA) for small wildlife and domestic animals is underway. This will provide a much-needed safe space to care for injured or rescued animals such as antelopes, tortoises, donkeys, pigs, and horses. We are building eight paddocks, each with a stable/shelter power and water supply. The facility will enable ADIWS to help more animals, but we will need your help looking after these rescues, for life.  

ADI has been honored with one of the first Top-Rated Awards of 2026 from GreatNonprofits. A good way to learn about ADI is to know what other supporters say about us – read some of our reviews and add your own here.

To help us continue with our campaigns, rescue and sanctuary work please donate here.

As I sit here in South Africa at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary (ADIWS), I feel a mix of emotions. There is an underlying feeling of loss outweighed by the greatness of a country rich with stunning beauty and majestic life. We remain optimistic and focus on the positive as much as possible and will do so in the latter part of this message.

First though, it is with a heavy heart that ADI shares the news of the passing of Dr JW Eksteen, who treated our rescued smaller wildlife such as antelope, tortoises, and domestics including horses, pigs, and donkeys. Tragically, he lost his life after suffering a freak accident while treating a herd of buffalo.

Dr. Eksteen was an important member of our team, always making himself available to help care for our animals, regardless of the hour. Most recently, Dr. Eksteen was at ADIWS to treat ailing pot-bellied pig, Churchill, and Sammy the horse. Veterinary care of these animals is not always easy, as they are often suspicious of humans after the abuse they have endured. Dr. Eksteen, however, was always kind, patient, and empathetic. We have sent our condolences to his family and the team at Kroonstad Veterinary Hospital. May he rest in peace.

As we continue to care for ALL animal survivors of abuse and trafficking, Dr. Eksteen will forever be remembered as a someone who used his skills for the animals, which in turn, has helped get us to where we are today.

Among those he cared for are those who will now find refuge in our new safe space for small wildlife and domestic animals, the Non-Predator Reception Area. Vital to changing the world for these animals, we thank everyone who generously helped support this urgently needed facility at ADIWS which is currently under construction right now, providing paddocks and stables for any animal in need. Check out our progress here!

We are thrilled to share that while ADIWS may have started primarily for big cats, we have become a beacon of hope and a second chance for all creatures in need across the region, including antelope, tortoises, cows, sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, and pigs as well as a peacock and goslings.

The heartbreaking story of Bahati, a young calf found cruelly tied in the back of a pick-up truck who could not even move without choking is one of many rescues that highlights how desperately we need to provide more facilities for these poor, abused animals so that they can be assessed and cared for on arrival. While the perpetrators in that case have been charged, ADIWS was the only hope of a happy conclusion for Bahati.

Thanks to your support, and the matching grant from Dr Betsy Coville, we hit our target of $44,310/ £33,650, and in January, I was delighted to mark out the site and watch the straining posts for the fences being planted.

We are now moving forward rapidly with the eight paddocks, each with a shelter/stable, and water supply.

This new facility gives us the potential to save many more injured wildlife and domestic animals, and we will need to provide lifetime care.

Can you help? Please donate today, towards the lifetime care of our survivors of human cruelty. Donate US $, CA $ | Donate UK £, Euros, Rand