Friends of Free Wildlife open for business

Friends of Free Wildlife (FFW) has opened at their new premises and is now able to fulfil their mission to rehabilitate and release wild animals in need of help.
On 30 October, the public was invited to the organisation’s open day, and had an opportunity to tour their new facilities at the premises in Kyalami.
“We’ve been on our new property for three months now,” explained Wendy Brodie, a member of the FFW board and the person who manages volunteers.
“When we first got here, we had to do a lot of work on converting the old stables to areas that we could use [for the treatment and care of animals].”
The FFW non-profit organisation (NPO) was founded late last year when FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, which provided care to animals in distress from the community for 18 years, was forced to close due to a lack of confidence in its current management. Margi Brocklehurst and other FreeMe team members then started FFW in order to fill the gap left by this change, finding new premises and beginning the work of founding their own organisation.

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Their hard work has resulted in the creation of a main clinic and an intensive care unit where they will be treating sick or injured animals, clinics for both baby mammals and birds, an area for reptiles and a reception and office area.
The organisation has also completed all the administration work necessary to register as a NPO. “Our applications to… [the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development] were successful, and our first inspection from the Gauteng Directorate of Conservation happened in August,” explained Sherul Gibbons, who handles the administration side.
“We now have a lease [for the property], have received a Sars registration number making FFW a public benefit organisation, which means donations people make for over R500 can be tax deductible, and we are officially a level 1 BEE company.”
Visitors were welcome to go and view the changes made to the property, and got to enjoy tea and cake in honour of the NPO’s official launch. They were also encouraged to browse the second-hand books that were for sale in order to raise funds for FFW.
“What we want to focus on from now is education, because education is a hugely important thing to us,” added Brodie.
“We have done a few educational talks at schools, and we want to continue to do more of these, as we really want to keep children engaged and willing to learn about how to care for the animals that they find around them.
“We also plan to start reaching out to homeowners’ associations in our area, in order to help educate the public on what to do if they do find animals in need of help.”
If you would like to find out more about the work FFW does, volunteer your time with their organisation or to donate, please visit their website www.friendsoffreewildlife.co.za or contact them on 082 561 3681.

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Friends of Free Wildlife volunteer at Joburg Zoo