As we approach the Easter holidays and World Day for Laboratory Animals (April 24), I’d like to share with you the latest news from ADI including another US State passing a ban on wild animals in circuses, a circus rescue in France, state bans on bullfighting rippling across Mexico, and what could potentially be one of the biggest breakthroughs on animal experiments for years.

In what could be one of the most important breakthroughs towards ending animal testing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a ‘Roadmap to reducing animal testing in preclinical safety studies’, saying there is “..growing recognition that animals do not provide adequate models of human health and disease” and “over 90% of drugs that appear safe and effective in animals do not go on to receive FDA approval in humans”. Announcing that “new approach methodologies” (NAMs) are “more effective, human-relevant models” and the new strategy can “accelerate the validation and adoption of …human-relevant methods”. The roadmap is a statement of intent – we must ensure that it is followed through.

Please urge your members of Congress to back these moves with clear timetables and request FDA produce annual reports on progress on animal tests which have been replaced.

Passing the House with a massive majority (65-32), bill SB 5065 will ban traveling acts from touring with elephants, big cats, primates, bears, and hybrids of these species across Washington State. The bill now moves to the Governor’s desk for signature. If you live in the state, please urge Gov. Ferguson to sign SB 5065 into law – call 360-902-4111 or send a message here (making sure to leave your name and address to verify residency).

In addition to the new ADI Wildlife Sanctuary grey water recycling and waste disposal systems which are under construction, we have boosted our supply of drinking water with three new boreholes.  Drilled to depths from 40m/131ft to 60m/196ft you can see the one pictured here hitting water! This will help safeguard our future and enable us to save more animals.

Michoacán joined Sinaloa, Sonora, Coahuila, Quintana Roo, and Guerrero, to become the sixth of Mexico’s 31 states with a bullfighting ban. Mexico City has outlawed the use of weapons that injure the bulls, making it a bloodless spectacle, but still one that terrorizes the bulls. ADI Latin America, a member of the “México Sin Toreo” (Mexico Without Bullfighting) Movement, will continue to fight for its abolition nationwide. We are also working on a new campaign in Peru following Colombia’s successful ban on bullfighting.

The Bay Area Renaissance Festival in Dade City, Florida invited Lauryn Murray back again this year to host elephant rides. ADI undercover investigations have documented training of elephants for rides which has included beatings and electric shocks to ensure the animals are compliant in public. The festival is over this year, but please send a polite message to the Bay Area Renaissance Festival, urging them to no longer host elephant rides: info@bayarearenfest.com.

The ADIWS on site team has moved into the first section of the Tohir Staff Village and the final phase is almost finished. Once complete, it will house 15 of our team at the heart of the Sanctuary. On duty 24/7 to look after the animals and deal with any emergencies. Each team member has their own room with bathroom, with common areas including two kitchens, laundry room, a TV room, and a games room. Thank you to everyone who supported this important investment in the future of the Sanctuary and the welfare of the animals.

Sponsored by Congressman Don Beyer, the Humane Cosmetics Act (HR1657) has been reintroduced! The Act would make it illegal to conduct or contract for animal testing for cosmetic products in the US and prohibit the sale or transport of cosmetics developed or manufactured using animal testing. ADI investigations have exposed suffering of animals in cosmetic testing, including racks of rabbits restrained in stocks, and guinea pigs suffering raw, inflamed skin lesions. Help get the Humane Cosmetics Act (HR1657) passed to restrict. Take action here

Abbey Stadium in Swindon is to close at the end of this year after 73 years. Costs for staging dog racing have increased rapidly, and keeping the stadium operating is said to be no longer viable – indicating falling public support. Greyhound racing causes fatal injuries to dogs and life as a racing dog is short – ADI hopes England and Scotland will follow Wales’ lead and ban this cruel sport.

The California Authority of Racing Fairs has cancelled all 2025 horse racing events in Northern California. Horses however continue to suffer and die on other racing tracks, with nearly 700 horses dying in the US alone last year. If you live near a racecourse and are organising a protest, let us know at USA@ad-international.org and we can help promote.

In the UK, horse Willy De Houelle died after a horror fall on the first day of the Grand National Festival at Aintree, with another horse, Celebre d’Allen, later dying after collapsing near the finish line. At the subsequent Scottish Grand National, Macdermott and The Kniphand also died. Horses are dying in the name of entertainment and it’s time it ended.

It can be tough, dirty work at ADIWS, preparing food, giving meds, cleaning animal houses and habitats, cutting grass, planting trees, and more. Work continues whatever the weather and in Africa that can mean torrential rain and serious heat, so our team needs practical clothing. We were therefore incredibly grateful to Jonsson Workwear, who donated new uniforms for the ADIWS team and especially for much needed wet and cold weather clothing. It felt like Christmas came early when the boxes of clothing arrived and the boxes were turned into toys for the lions and tigers.

Meta acted after calls by ADI and other members of the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition to remove two monkey cruelty Facebook pages. Shockingly, one of the pages had been awarded a ‘Creator Badge’, which promotes and incentivises engagement. Meta’s existing policies explicitly prohibit content that depicts animal cruelty, yet enforcement remains inconsistent, and despite reports being sent to Meta, these sickening pages had remained up. Online cruelty is an ongoing issue and ADI with SMACC are calling for a full review of Facebook’s content moderation management system, full transparency on abusive content continuing to generate profit and how to stop it.

The India Shrine Circus invited Hamid Circus to bring Carson & Barnes elephants to Oklahoma City, in violation of the Oklahoma City Code prohibiting animal performances, or exhibitions where animals are encouraged, forced, or trained to perform. Please speak out and urge the Greater OKC Chamber to ensure the circus does not return with animals in future – email econdev@okcchamber.com and/or call the Chamber on (405)297-8900.

David was heartbroken after Easy passed away last year. He retreated into himself, barely leaving his feeding camp at the Sanctuary. Grief protocols, used to help the animals through loss, were implemented with Resident Welfare team member Eleanor giving extra enrichment and spending quiet time with him. It is good to now see him exploring his habitat again.  We put David with Easy after she lost her sister Shakira, and he adored the older lioness, who was very much the boss. We were all devastated when Easy succumbed to cancer, leaving poor David alone again. We will continue to look for a companion for David. It is always a challenge introducing powerful animals like lions, but the extra risk for David is that he was ‘declawed’ (front toes partially cut off) in the circus, making it risky to put him with a female with claws.

ADI joined activists outside the Los Angeles Zoo to call for sanctuary for elephants Billy and Tina. Elephants need vast amounts of space and complex social structures to remain physically and psychologically healthy. Like so many others, Billy and Tina have been condemned to a life of solitude and confinement for decades. It’s time for the zoo to do the right thing and release them to a sanctuary. Join our call and contact CEO & Zoo Director Denise Verret on (323) 644-4200 or email membership@lazoo.org.

King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council rejected plans to demolish existing buildings and build new units to expand housing on-site to 14,000 pigs and 714,000 chickens in Norfolk. Producers Cranswick, who were behind the application, failed to demonstrate the development would not cause ‘significant adverse effects’ and failed to provide sufficient environmental information, despite having had 3 years to do so. In its submission of opposition, ADI outlined the negative effects the proposal would have on public health, climate, environment, animal welfare, and local residents. Over 12,000 objections were lodged. A victory for common sense, we hope the decision of the council will stand and not be appealed.

It is a decade next week since our epic relocation of 39 monkeys, coatis and kinkajous, saved from circuses and the pet trade in Peru, including Pepe and friends. It was a 15-hour journey by road, air, and river. Back to the jungle with their own kind, the animals formed family groups. Talking the same language, they were no longer alone. ADI has continued to fund the care and housing for our rescues at Pilpintuwasi ever since. We are now undertaking major repairs and replacements.
To help with urgent improvements and repairs:
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We are nearly halfway to our target – can you help us get over the finish line?

Check out this aerial view of some of the habitats at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.
You’ll see Kiara and Scarc, Rey Cusco, horses Crockett with mom Amani grazing between habitats, cow Matilda, Smith looking up from his platform, Africa and Kiara on the feeding camp platform and Rolex amongst the trees, Saham in the feeding camp, and David on the move.

Coralie and Goliath spent a decade in this circus cage. They now have a chance to spend the next ten years at ADIWS. In 2021, France passed a law phasing out wild animals in traveling circuses, first prohibiting breeding wild animals in circuses and setting minimum welfare standards, with the full ban coming into force in 2028. Removed from Cirque Idéal, following an investigation by Free Life, Coralie and Goliath are being cared for at Tonga Terre D’Accueil, a temporary holding facility for confiscated animals near Lyon. ADI has secured permits from France and South Africa, and are looking for flights, and building at the Sanctuary. We urgently need funds for the care of the relocation and care of these animals:
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ADI has been asked to provide a forever home for lions 13-year-old Coralie and 11-year old Goliath, who have escaped the circus following France’s ban on wild animal acts in circuses in 2021. The law has phased out the animal circuses with stopping breeding, setting of welfare standards, and the full ban is set to take effect in 2028.

Of course, we said yes! Tim and I went to visit Coralie and Goliath to finalise the agreement to bring them home to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa. The couple have lived together all their lives and are close, affectionate, and remind us very much of our dear Tarzan and Tanya from Guatemala (like Coralie, Tanya is also a little older than Tarzan).

Coralie and Goliath were removed from Cirque Idéal in France, following an investigation by our colleagues from the Free Life Association, which exposed how they were confined to a tiny, rusting cage on the back of a truck. A complaint was filed with the authorities, but the circus left town and disappeared – a familiar story for ADI, as we have often had to pursue circuses for months! Then a stroke of luck; a town hall contacted Free Life, saying the circus had been on their land for several months and was refusing to leave. The other lions were removed and given a temporary space in a zoo, but Coralie and Goliath could not be homed – it was claimed that Goliath was aggressive, but when Tim and I met him, we found him to be a peaceful, playful soul.

Goliath and Coralie were taken to Tonga Terre D’Accueil, a temporary holding centre for confiscated wildlife established in 2007 which is funded/attached to a zoo, Espace Zoologique de Saint-Martin-la-Plaine. Their first rescue was a hippopotamus confiscated from a circus, (coincidentally, one that Tim and I worked to free through a court case in the noughties) and they have since housed and relocated over 500 wild animals rescued from cruelty cases, or confiscated from traffickers, or illegal exotic pets. But it is not a permanent home – Coralie and Goliath cannot stay there.

After a long process to get permission from the wildlife and veterinary officials in France and South Africa, we have our permits and are looking for flights!

Now, let’s get them home!

We need help – we must build new crates for Goliath and Coralie (on our last rescue we shipped two old crates flat-packed, but it was not as economic as we hoped). The new crates will be built in France (to international transport specifications) at a cost of €5,000 / $5,500 / £4,200 each. Other transport costs will include trucks to and from the airports in France and South Africa; customs and ground charges. We hope to get a free flight, or a concession on flight costs for both the lions and for Tim and myself to accompany them. We will keep you updated!

Meanwhile at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary….

We are busy building a new tiger house so that Sasha tiger can move out of Stephi Habitat to our new Alexis Habitat, opposite her family (Max, Stripes, Lupe, Luna, Sun, Moon).

Then, Stephi Habitat will be converted to our first permanent quarantine unit, initially for Coralie and Goliath and then other animals who arrive and need quick space. They will have about 2.5 acres of space, plenty of room to run and play (or just snooze) – more space than they have ever known.

While Coralie and Goliath are in quarantine, our next task is to work on their permanent home – Antonia Habitat (7.5 acres = 110metres x 250metres / 361ft x 820ft).

We must complete house and fence repairs and add some lion viewing platforms. Currently, this habitat is home (at night) to Matilda the cow and her family of sheep and goats, while their new barns and enclosures are being built. They roam during the day, but come in at night, protected from larger native wildlife.

This is a lot of moving around, but although we have 455 acres in total, we have never had spare finances to build extra habitats and houses, for future residents. We build as we need them.

It is also essential that we raise funds for Coralie and Goliath’s care including veterinary treatment for the next decade, this is a major commitment but one that we think you’ll agree they deserve.

Tim and I do hope you can help us bring Coralie and Goliath home to Africa. Their story breaks our hearts. After a lifetime of suffering, abuse, shouting and screaming in the circus, living in a tiny space the size of a truck, on bare boards, nothing of interest and the wonderful outside world, the other side of the bars. These two beautiful souls need us to change their lives forever.

So, what do you think? Shall we do it?
Would you like to bring another Tarzan and Tanya to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary?
This important rescue will help drive forward the French circus ban, ensuring every cage is empty by 2028.

I think this is a YES WE CAN!
With you by our side, we can do this.

Please help Coralie and Goliath today! Donate UK £, Euros, Rand | Donate US $, CA $