News

Fundraising Priorities

INTRODUCTION

This year's excellent rainfall has brought unexpected consequences for the Carnivore Care Centre – the consistent rain has accelerated grass growth, which obstructs AfriCat's ability to monitor the well-being of cats, and this high grass also becomes a tremendous fire hazard as it dries in winter. AfriCat therefore intends to raise funds for the purchase of brush cutters for the smaller holding camps, as well as a tractor and rotary cutter for the larger game areas.

OBJECTIVES

To provide the animals in AfriCat's care with the requirements and conditions which allow for a healthy and natural living environment in order to minimise the occurrence of illness and injuries, including:
- a well-balanced diet;
- a suitable, spacious, and stress-free habitat in which the animal can move without being unduly restricted;
- unfettered ability for the carnivores in AfriCat's care to be visually monitored.
Monitoring of injured or shy animals, to check condition and behaviour is of utmost importance. Tall grass in holding facilities prevents accurate monitoring and could lead to not picking up on potential problems - this may lead to death of a predator which may otherwise easily be treated;
AfriCat has never had the resource of a full-time tractor, able to accomplish large-scale grass cutting in the large holding areas – the tractor will also serve other almost-daily requirements of AfriCat – transporting materials, maintaining roads, creating fire-breaks, and other required tasks.
Many of AfriCat's holding camps are small and are therefore inaccessible for larger farming machinery such as tractors – as such, grass and smaller brush needs to be cleared by hand with brush cutters.
AfriCat's staffing is very lean, and for a single worker to cut grass and brush in the larger holding camps and game areas at AfriCat would be prohibitively time-consuming. As such, mechanisation is the solution, one which makes an immediate difference to the animals' sense of space, and therefore security, with the holding camps.