Community members educated about the importance of conservation

Friends of Free Wildlife protects and educates community members about the importance of conserving urban wildlife.

The non-profit organisation, located on Maple Road in Kyalami, has been in operation since 2016, following the closure of the FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, with the primary goal of rescuing and caring for wildlife in urban areas while educating the local community on how to assist in this mission.

Founding member and senior manager Claudius Sibanda said, “We make sure that animals are rescued, rehabilitated and released successfully back into the wild.

“We also want to raise awareness among the public on these animals.”

He added that a big focus for them is that they consider the wildlife, no matter the animal, in residential areas. “With so many developments occurring in Johannesburg, and rapid urbanisation, we want to make sure that the wetlands and animals in Johannesburg are taken into account.”

“Our wildlife is very much in danger with the growth of infrastructure… We do get a lot of animals who have been electrocuted and [sustained] burns because the area where they should be has been disturbed in some way.”

Sibanda said education plays a big role within their core operation, attempting to assist in addressing misconceptions about wildlife. “We do have a lot of people who think they can keep wildlife as pets and not realising that there are implications around keeping animals when you don’t know what they need.”

With World Wildlife Day taking place on 3 March, Sibanda said local residents and animals lovers should consistently educate themselves on what animals, particularly indigenous wildlife, need and how they can survive.

“My main objective from the public is to keep supporting our wildlife, and assisting the young generation in understanding these topics so that moving forward, younger people will have this knowledge.”

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