Rye high street store Ethel Loves Me is helping to raise funds to rescue five lions from war-torn Ukraine. The team at the shops are working with the Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden to raise money to pay for the animals’ evacuation from close to the front line.
The sanctuary is constructing a new rescue centre to receive the five lions in the Kent village, and have launched a fundraising campaign called Big Cats in Crisis. A large team is involved in the lions’ rescue, which will involve 1,400 miles of travel over six countries.
As part of the fundraiser at Ethel, framed photos of the cats at the sanctuary, taken by volunteer Peter Norgrove, are on sale. There are also cat-themed prints and some special, limited edition, decoupage tiles featuring Peter’s artwork. Visitors to the shops can also support the fundraiser directly by donating online.
One of the five lions is Yuna, a lioness who was housed in terrible conditions and found by military volunteers. She was so stressed and unwell that she was due to be euthanised, but the Big Cat Sanctuary stepped in to save her- she is already rescued and living at the sanctuary.
The other four were on their way when one of the Ethel team visited recently: Rori, who was used for illegal breeding and has suffered shell shock and concussion from heavy bombing; Vanda who was actually rescued from an apartment just a few kms from the frontline of the war; and Amani and Lira who are siblings and were evacuated together.
Jo and Jason Dorey from Ethel Loves Me also have a raffle connected to the fundraiser, with a unique prize. “It’s a tour of the sanctuary, getting to see not just the new lions in their large new-built area but all the big cats. Peter will lead the tour for the winner. It’s really a great prize because visits to the sanctuary are rather exclusive and they have a very limited number of open days per year. The winner will also have a hand-feeding session with a keeper where they meet individual big cats and feed them.”
Image Credits: Ethel Loves Me .