As our ADI US team and supporters celebrate their Independence Day tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for giving so many animals their very own Independence Day through your support for ADI.

But first, I have some very special news….

Early on Wednesday morning, Daisy donkey gave birth to a beautiful foal. Within minutes the baby was on their own feet, feeding, soon happily exploring the Sanctuary alongside mother. The resident herd of uncle and auntie donkeys gathered around, with Daisy keeping her body between them and her newborn, as a protective mother should. She turned her back on them, shuffled her feet in gentle warning, not to come too close for baby’s first steps. They were all very respectful and, as we know, the herd is incredibly protective of young animals.

Eleven months ago, Daisy and her family were walking on a road and her mate was hit and killed by a truck.  Daisy was found at the roadside with her son. The owners agreed to surrender the donkeys to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.

ADIWS follows the True Sanctuary policies, therefore does not allow breeding. Males are neutered, but donkey pregnancies can last 14 months and it slowly became clear Daisy had arrived with a baby already on the way. This is the third occasion a female has arrived pregnant, the earlier babies being Nugget and Eeyore, who have grown up in freedom.

We are keeping our distance from mother and foal and so do not know their sex yet, but do you have any suggestions for a name, boy or girl? We must provide lifetime care for the newborn, and a donkey can live up to 30 years.  Can you contribute to a special ‘Baby Shower’ to help secure the future of our latest arrival? Donate US $, CA $ | Donate UK £, Euros, Rand

It is always emotional when I see the lions we save take their first steps on African soil. For Coralie and Goliath, that was a year ago and marked the end of a decade in a tiny French circus cage. Now they were back in the land where they belong, enjoying acres of natural space – that’s what I call a real Independence Day!

Coralie and Goliath also represent two of the first animals saved as France begins emptying its circus cages. There will be no wild animals in circuses in France by the end of 2028. No one will suffer again as Coralie and Goliath did – that’s why ADI’s campaigns for permanent change are so vital.

Almost to the day a year before Goliath and Coralie’s arrival, Tim and I landed in South Africa with the with the six young lions saved from the illegal trophy pet trade in Kuwait– Muheeb, Shujaa and Saham, Aziza, Dhubiya, and Saif. Who can forget Saif and Dhubiya playing football (pictured above)?

They have all grown so much.  Shujaa and Saham are very loud, big boys.  Saif is developing a magnificent mane, and Aziza is the most transformed of them all.  Gone is that frightened, anxious animal, pacing frantically, we encountered in Kuwait. In her place a confident, powerful and friendly lioness.

Saif, Dhubiya and Aziza have recently moved to the 6+acre Sam & Eric Habitat where we have built a new three-room house and hope to full integrate the three as a pride. Aziza has been excitedly digging for rabbits but hasn’t caught any!  Watch their move to their new home and their excitement…

Six months after the Kuwait 6 arrived, Muheeb suddenly began to lose weight, he was taken into hospital and the diagnosis was devastating – cancer. Eighteen months on, after treatment by Dr Caldwell, Muheeb appears to be in remission. He continues to seize life with both paws, devours his meals and is maintaining a healthy weight, plays with toys and roars with the other lions.

We have built a new 2.5-acre habitat with a two room house for Muheeb, alongside Aziza, Dhubiya, and Saif, so he remains next to his friends from Kuwait. He galloped out into his new home and raced alongside his new neighbor, Smith, who lives next door.

For most of the animals we rescue, it is not possible to return them to the wild. Years of captivity leave deep scars—they are inbred and often cruelly maimed, their teeth broken, and toes cut off to stop claws from growing. They are stripped of the tools they need to survive on their own.

So, it is extra special for us when a wild future is possible.  We have released monkeys, birds and hundreds of confiscated tortoises into the wild. Right now, four orphaned barn owl chicks are being hand reared at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. The next step will be to put them in an aviary in our new Non-Predator Reception Area and then they will be freed. We will be building owl boxes on our barn. Nothing quite says ‘Independence Day’ than a cage being opened and a bird flying into the distance!

Where animals cannot be returned to the wild, ADI works to give them a life as close to what nature intended as possible – preferably in their natural habitat.

We fund the care of dozens of monkeys, kinkajous, coatimundis and bears rescued from circuses, restaurants, illegal zoos and wildlife traffickers. These live in enclosures built at two rainforest sanctuaries in Peru.

I will never forget the day we returned spider monkey Pepe and his family into their forest home. I opened Pepe’s travel crate, he looked out, climbed onto the top, hugged me and then swung away, into the trees with the other monkeys.

ADI’s most important rescue missions have been the huge operations enforcing circus bans and rescuing all the animals in Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru – approaching 200 animals saved.  We airlifted 29 lions out of Bolivia, a staggering 33 lions on one aircraft from Colombia and Peru, and 20 tigers and lions flew to new lives from Guatemala to South Africa.

Many of these animals continue to enjoy wonderful lives at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, like Kiara, still with her cubs Scarc and Mahla 12 years after we reunited the family when we rescued them from a circus in Peru.  Those residents who have now passed on, like dear Tarzan and Tanya, got to enjoy their golden years with grass beneath their feet in the African sunshine.

Ben Tzur and Ori have been stranded for months due to the war. Saved as cubs by Israeli wildlife officials from the illegal pet trade – BenTzur was found tied to a tree in a yard – they are now the equivalent of teenagers.

But with your help their Independence Day will come.

Today, I have been in touch with our shipping agents in Israel and South Africa and we are working hard to move the boys at the end of July or early August.  Everything is in place for them at ADIWS, where we have reconstructed the old habitats of Saif, Dhubiya, Aziza and Muheeb into a single habitat with a new 2-room house, to make a forever home for BenTzur and Ori.

Independence Day for all of these animals means giving them back their lives.

As you know, the war has caused the cost of the rescue of BenTzur and Ori to escalate massively. The flights cannot be donated by airlines this time, we must pay for them. I want to thank everyone who has contributed, but we must raise more to cover the costs.

Please consider a special donation today. Donate US $, CA $ | Donate UK £, Euros, Rand

Happy Independence Day. I know our rescued animals will also be celebrating theirs.