Little Ori looks adorable in the picture above, except it’s not a cute image, it’s tragic.
At this age, young Ori should still have been nursing with his mother, but instead, he was torn from her to become a product for sale in the illegal wildlife trade. He was passed from person to person, forced to be cuddled and posed with, as his owners enjoyed the status of owning a #TrophyPet lion. Deprived of everything he needed, forced into dependency on humans. But the day this picture was taken, Ori’s luck changed.
Ori was confiscated from a house by Israel’s Nature & Parks Authority (NPA) in a crackdown on illegally trafficked animals. He had been stolen from his mother so young that he was desperate for human attention, but Ori had another lucky break. Less than a week earlier, NPA had seized another cub, Ben-Tzur, after he was found tied to a tree. There is every chance the pair are brothers; certainly, they have become loving brothers. Ben-Tzur has helped Ori regain his confidence, reassuring him when he is nervous, and helping him become a lion again. Being with Ori has also helped Ben-Tzur’s confidence.
Now, the boys are on the brink of another giant step: A new life at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa.
We have been working since January to bring the boys home and are one permit away from confirming their flight. They needed to get out fast as they are outgrowing their temporary space – ADI took the financial risk and said yes.
With your help, Ori and Ben-Tzur have almost their entire lives ahead of them, not tied to a tree, not living in a basement being passed from person to person but roaming acres of space in the land of their ancestors.
We must fight back against the traffickers, we must enforce laws, and help officials seize animals – sometimes the window of opportunity is tiny. Please help ADI help enforce laws, bring Ori and Ben-Tzur home, and care for them for life.
Wishing all our supporters a very happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow, and with a huge THANK YOU for all the love and support you send to our precious rescued animals.
Our two lovebirds on this year’s card, Goliath and Coralie, were rescued from a circus in France, and will be soaking up the sun and roaring sweet nothings to each other in their forever home in Africa – Goliath and Coralie’s first Valentine’s Day at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.
As always, this is the time of year when all of our residents get boxes of hay with catnip and other scents, painted with special messages of love. This picture shows Goliath and Coralie only have eyes for each other rather than their Valentine’s gift (above)! They remind us of our much loved, and missed, Tarzan and Tanya, who would often step over the gifts or treats and wander off together! Be sure to watch our special video of the lions and tigers getting treats here.
This Valentine’s Day, would you consider adopting Goliath and Coralie, as they embark on many years of Valentine’s celebrations at ADIWS? And we also do gift adoptions! See our US store | UK store.
Finally, please don’t forget two cubs seized from the illegal pet trade by authorities in Israel – Ben-Tzur and Ori need you TODAY! We are working as fast as we can to get them to safety at the ADIWS. Please give Ben-Tzur and Ori a big hearted Valentine’s Day welcome to the ADI family, let them know they are heading for their forever home where they will be loved, and safe, under your protection. Donate US $, CA $ | Donate £, Euros, Rand
Finally, just in case you have had enough of the ‘RomComs’ which will be screening all this weekend, I have picked a few of my favourite real life animal rescue stories – check them out below.
CHECK OUT HERE THESE REAL-LIFE LOVE STORIES MADE POSSIBLE BY ADI SUPPORTERS
The inspirational story of how the love and loyalty of lions Tarzan and Tanya carried them through the hell of a circus in Guatemala to a new life in South Africa.
Lions Leo and Muñeca, saved in two dramatic rescues in Peru, reunited to their forever home in Africa.
Doting couple Sasha and Kumal, how they were rescued from a circus in Guatemala and how they loved to play!
Last year’s Valentine’s Day celebration at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, with glorious memories of Tarzan and Tanya.
Our French Lovers: Goliath and Coralie had endured a decade in a tiny circus cage in France before flying to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa last year. This video captures the moment they left quarantine and explored their forever home.
Beautiful memories of the life at ADIWS enjoyed by Tarzan and Tanya – a precious gift from ADI supporters.
Yesterday, Tim and I returned from a whistle-stop 36 hours in Israel, preparing for the relocation of lions Ori and Ben Tzur to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. The lions were tiny cubs when they were rescued by Israel’s Nature & Parks Authority (NPA) in a crackdown on illegally trafficked ‘trophy pets’ that also saw a staggering sixty grivet monkeys seized.
This rescue is another blow against wildlife trafficking and a chance to create awareness about wildlife pets.
We took over the rescue at very short notice after Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary was burned in a wildfire, leaving nowhere for the boys – we also evacuated two of their lions Elsa and Lei-ah, while Panthera Africa is being rebuilt.
We still do not know how long the evacuated lions will be fed and cared for by ADI but anticipate it will be months or even a year away. So, with Ben Tzur and Ori coming to ADIWS as their first proper home for an indefinite period, we agreed it would therefore be in their best welfare interests to remain at ADIWS for life, rather than settle in, build trust with their carers, only to be uprooted for a 15+ hour journey to another location at some point. The South African CITES authority, who we must commend for the speed they have worked on this, also required that the import be to their permanent home.
A big project to take on, and one that will impact our other work. However, your support shows it has been the right choice. Hence, we were off to Israel for 36 hours this week.
We have been working intensely since mid-January: hours securing permits, an inspection by the CITES authority and habitat modifications and preparing travel crates in case needed.
We had a very productive meeting with the NPA team, planning the relocation, learning about the characters of the lions, feeding routines and so on. It may not seem as exciting as the actual rescues and relocations, but meetings, planning and coordination are what ensure animals are moved safely. We also got to see a little of their work at a local nature reserve returning vultures and other animals to the wild.
Seeing Ori and Ben Tzur made all of the hard work worthwhile. These two youngsters will be growing up in Africa! Ori is quite shy and Ben Tzur is extremely friendly, confident and looks after Ori. The NPA team said he had brought Ori out of himself.
Sadly, Ben Tzur has been made utterly dependent on humans and craves attention, wanting the social contact he would get from other lions. The traffickers drag the babies from their mothers when they should be suckling and receiving important nutrients and learning from their mothers. When you see people on social media pretending the animals adore them as they crave attention it is a lie. It is learned dependency born of being deprived of the relationships they really need.
But there was a very important first impression seeing Ben Tzur and Ori – these are not tiny babies anymore! They are at least 10 months old, and huge.
At the zoo they are being taught crate familiarisation. Each day they are fed in the travel crates, the doors are closed and they are given treats while inside – you will have seen us doing this as we prepare for a big lion or tiger move. This is the best way, as it enables loading without sedation and means the animals are calm and less stressed during journeys.
We reviewed the process but unfortunately it confirmed the cubs are now too big for these crates. We are looking to resolve this by sending our crates or with construction of new crates in Israel.
We hope this will be a minor setback and not add too much cost to the rescue. I still hope that the move will be before the end of February.
We really need your support for this additional rescue and have a very narrow timeframe to raise the funds needed, including what will be the biggest cost to ADI – feeding and caring for these boys for the next 20 years.
Tim and I are flying to Israel as ADI steps in to save two illegally trafficked lion cubs after their hopes of a new life seemed to have been shattered.
The cubs had the worst possible start in life – sold by a wildlife trafficker as illegal pets, Ben-Tzur was tied to a tree (see picture below) in a yard and Ori confined in miserable conditions inside a house. Thankfully, still tiny babies, they were seized by Israel’s police and Nature & Parks Authority (NPA), during a crackdown on wildlife trafficking.
They were seized in March 2025 and after waiting for almost a year to head to a new life, the boys were destined to fly in late January to Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary in Western Cape, South Africa when it was suddenly devastated by a wildfire.
Sanctuaries across South Africa scrambled to take in evacuated animals with an ADI Wildlife Sanctuary team flying down to bring white lionesses, Elsa and Lei-ah to safety, the drive back taking over 15 hours. They will be our VIP guests until Panthera Africa can be rebuilt.
But what would happen to Ben-Tzur and Ori with their new home in ashes?
We have stepped in to help, and for the past weeks I have been working with our lawyers to quickly secure new permits to bring the cubs to ADIWS. With a huge rebuilding operation needed and unknown timeline for Panthera Africa, we both agreed it was in the best interests of the cubs for ADIWS to provide them with their forever home.
Things have been moving fast, and we are grateful to the CITES authorities in Israel for expediting the export permits, and to South Africa CITES for quickly inspecting the proposed home and for the super-fast import permits. We have prepared travel crates at ADIWS in case these need to be shipped to Israel.
Tim and I are flying to Israel to meet Ori and Ben-Tzur, the NPA team who rescued the animals, and the zoo officials where they currently reside. We will review the options for travel crates, plan the route, and co-ordinate the logistics for the move. As we await potential flights and veterinary import permits, we are doing everything we can to move the boys to ADIWS this month.
This is a big rescue to undertake with short notice, and the youngsters will hopefully have more than 20 years ahead of them in our care. There will be transport costs, initial veterinary costs, the cost of a 2.5-acre habitat, food, care, and the veterinary costs for two decades – we really need your help to raise at least $75,000/ £55,000, if we are not to jeopardize our plans to help other animals.
I had to make a quick decision for these young lions whose dreams had just gone up in smoke, so I hope you will help us as you have done before.
It has been a busy start to 2026 with the emergency relocation to ADIWS of two white lions from a South African sanctuary hit by a wildfire, ex-circus lions Coralie and Goliath moved into their forever home, and major campaigns for animals in the UK, US, Peru and Colombia. Here’s a few of the highlights.
On 8th January, a devastating wildfire ripped through Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa’s Western Cape. True sanctuaries across South Africa scrambled to take in the animals and ADI flew a team to assist. Two white lions Elsa and Lei-ah were evacuated on a 15+ hour journey to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary (ADIWS). After arriving shaken from the trauma of the fire, the lions have since settled in and are now very relaxed. Last week it was time for the girls to explore their main habitat, and we were delighted to be joined by founder Lizaene and Taryn, one of the carers, from Panthera Africa. The lions have a house, feeding camp and a 2.5 acre habitat and will be guests at ADIWS for as long as it takes for Panthera to rebuild. We had to act fast to evacuate these animals, so are especially grateful to the wonderful ADI supporters who then stepped up to help cover the costs of these two unexpected VIP guests. We do not as yet have any estimates on how long the lions will be with us.
ADI has also been working intensely to take over the relocation of two lion cubs from Israel, who had been destined for Panthera Africa until the devastating fire happened. This is another huge addition to our plans, and we will need to start raising funds quickly. This is moving very quickly and we will be providing a full update in the coming days.
UK Government’s animal welfare strategy sets targets which aims to ban trail hunting in England and Wales, phase out colony cages for laying hens, ban CO2 stunning in pigs, ban snares, ban the boiling alive of crustaceans like lobsters and crabs, and more by 2030. The decision on lobsters is based on scientific evidence confirming that such animals are sentient and feel pain. Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand have already introduced similar bans.
It is important for supporters in the UK to write to their MPs saying that you support the proposals and urge that they be moved forwards as quickly as possible to ensure that some of the target must be hit before the next general election. We anticipate consultations on these issues and it will be vital for supporters to participate and speak up for the animals – watch out for ADI updates. Find out more.
Our huge inflatable owl monkey Musmuqui continues to tour drawing attention to malaria experiments on small nocturnal monkeys. ADI undercover investigators exposed shocking scenes of trapping gangs catching monkeys in the forest and inside Colombia’s animal labs. The recent appearances of Musmuqui have included a three-day music festival and various schools in Colombia.
Kiara Piura (Kiara2) eye surgery: For a long time, we have been aware that at some stage the cataract in Kiara’s eye would become inflamed and require removal. Just before Christmas, there was rapid deterioration, and Dr Peter Caldwell and his team stepped in to perform the surgery and keep Kiara under observation during the holiday period. Brother Rolex and sister Africa were delighted to see her return to the Sanctuary for the new year. Kiara had already adapted to severely restricted vision in one eye, and has adapted following the surgery with ease, leaping onto her platforms or crates – she is pictured above this week enjoying a snooze with sister Africa.
Beagle breeder Ridglan Farms will surrender its state license on July 1 this year, ending the sale of dogs to labs. The Dane County facility, long criticized for regulatory violations, will however, continue to breed dogs for its own research under USDA licensing.
The UK Parliament debates fireworks: This month MPs debated two petitions aimed at restricting the sale of fireworks to council approved events and reducing the noise limit from 120 to 90 decibels. The petitions, with almost 400,000 signatures combined, reflect the rising concern about the increasing domestic use of very loud, bright fireworks. The discussion covered terror induced in companion animals, livestock and wildlife, as well as human injuries, anti-social behaviour and effects on veterans. Not a single MP was against increasing restrictions but despite this, the debate concluded without any tangible timeline or plan of action from the Government.
The International Candlelight Vigil for Elephants took place on January 10, backed by ADI and 30 other groups. Most of the elephants seen in zoos or circuses over the years have been born in the wild and spent decades in captivity. Candles were lit to remember these social, gentle, intelligent animals who lost their freedom to entertain people, and passed away in captivity last year.
In the US, please continue to speak up and fight for all those who are still confined and abused in the name of entertainment and contact your Congress membersin support of the reintroduction of TEAPSPA, to end elephant and other wild animal circus acts nationwide.
Horse-drawn carriages for tourists have been banned in Peru’s capital. The Superior Court of Justice accepted that horses are mistreated and a lack of oversight by municipal authorities, and so revoked all permits for “tourist” horse-drawn carriage rides. The court reviewed evidence of how horses are injured, suffer stress and respiratory problems working in noisy and heavily polluted areas of the city, crowded with cars, buses, trucks, and other vehicles. This could be an important precedent, because the court established that as animals are constitutionally protected sentient beings, the standard of protection cannot be reactive but must be preventive and protect animals from harm.
Report reveals lab suffering and incompetence: The UK’s Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) annual report reveals suffering and death in UK labs: regulated procedures performed on pregnant mice due to misidentifying sexes; multiple cases of mice mothers being removed from their new born too soon resulting in the deaths of pups; a system fault led to fish dying from chlorine exposure; dozens of mice killed by staff without proper euthanasia training; many animals accidentally left without food and/or water for up to 5 days; multiple live animals mistakenly put in waste bins. None of these cases received more than a letter of reprimand.
French Government confirms relocation of orcas: Mother and son Wikie and Keijo will be going to a coastal sanctuary off Canada. Both were born in captivity and have their lived entire lives in small concrete tanks in a marine park in the south of France that closed last year. The relocation is tentatively set for this summer when construction is complete.
In the US, please urge your Congress members (directory below TEAPSPA graphic) to reintroduce the SWIMS (Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings) Act to ban the taking and breeding of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales for public display. It would also ban the importation and exportation of these marine animals, with exemptions for transportation to sanctuaries and the wild.
Rescued French circus lions move into new habitat at ADIWS: In preparation for the arrival of Lei-ah and Elsa, Goliath and Coralie were moved out of the Stephi quarantine unit into their forever home. The 3.7-acre Augie habitat is where Tarzan and Tanya spent so many happy years and so it feels appropriate that this loving couple are moving in and keeping their spirit alive. Don’t miss the beautiful video of Goliath and Coralie exploring their new home here.
Thank you for your support that makes the work featured here possible. To help us continue with our campaigns and rescue work: Donate US $, CA $ | Donate £, Euros, Rand
Jan Creamer 