One of our 2020 Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Recipients, Save Animals-DRC, is helping the animals at the Kinshasa Zoo. And now, SA needs your help to make sure that no more zoo animals die from lack of food, lack of proper nutrients, and from general neglect. We are sponsoring the SA fundraiser on GoFundMe, https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-animals-at-the-zoo-of-kinshasa
[All photos and the video below are courtesy of SA-DRC and show SA-DRC volunteers at the Kinshasa Zoo feeding and interacting with the zoo animals.]
We've reproduced the fundraiser information here. We are grateful for any and all support, large or small. You can donate on the GoFundMe site or here, https://www.animal-kind.org/aki-donate- please state in the comment line that it is for the Kinshasa Zoo animals.
We, Save Animals, a non-profit charity organization created and based in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, decided to come to you so together we can save the animals in Kinshasa’s Zoological Gardens. This important spot for local people to learn of their heritage and for tourists to get an introduction to the DRC’s wildlife, is managed extremely poorly. The zoo’s animals are dying.
In collaboration with Animal-Kind International, we hope to raise $20,080 to cover one year of food, cleaning, and public relations/marketing. We know that this project is far from solving the problem of these animals, but we want at least to help them survive-in humane conditions-instead of dying. The Kinshasa Zoological Garden faces serious challenges as far as animal care, which has led to the death of several animals-please help us save the remaining animals and provide them with the care they deserve!
Created in the colonial period in 1938, the zoo was once much appreciated for the variety of animals it held. The animals were well cared for and it was the showcase for Congolese fauna in the capital. Today this is no longer the case.
Volunteers from Save Animals visit the zoo on a regular basis to clean the grounds, help clean cages, feed the animals, and to provide enrichment opportunities for them. But especially over the past year, SA has noticed that the cages are emptying. According to a staff member, "Many animals, including lion, elephant, antelope, and others have died because of bad conditions such as lack of food and inappropriate food lacking the nutrients the animals need." The zoo currently hosts a total of 80 animals.
In addition to being a place where children and students come to gain knowledge about wildlife, this site hosts local visitors and tourists. The entry fee is US$1. But there are no longer many visitors, certainly nothing near the number that visited years ago. The zoo staff rely on revenue generated by entry fees to buy food for the animals. But without visitors, there isn’t enough money to buy the food.
The project is not aimed at encouraging the zoo to get more animals, but to take care of the animals that they already have and to promote the zoo as a learning experience, in particular for people in Kinshasa, who may never have seen DRC’s wildlife, their heritage.
Project objectives:
« We will save the remaining animals in the zoo and ensure their conditions are humane by feeding them and cleaning their cages and enclosures once a week, every Sunday, for one year.
« We will improve the appearance of the zoo and its animals and we will raise visibility of the improvements so people will visit it again. This will grow the revenue and help assure the survival of these animals. We will demonstrate to zoo management and staff that a clean zoo with well-cared for animals can attract enough money through entry fees so that external fundraising will not be required.
Please see the budget we have developed for this work, shown below.
More information about Animal Kind International: AKI raises funds for existing animal welfare organizations mainly in Africa, with a secondary focus of Latin America/Caribbean & E. Europe. We do the due diligence so you know your donations are being used to help animals in need. We send 100% of all donations received to our supported organizations. Animal Kind International
More information about Save Animals:
Our website: Save Animals DRC website
Facebook : Save Animals-ASBL
Instagram: saveanimalsrdc
Our TV show promoting animal welfare : https://youtu.be/mTnr8uSJKVo
Budget for Save Animals at the Kinshasa Zoo
Every Sunday for one year, about 10 volunteers from Save Animals will visit the zoo, feed the animals, and clean the cages and enclosures of less dangerous animals (horses, small monkeys, birds, etc.), and will help the professional cleaner to clean more dangerous animals’ enclosures. We will provide enrichment items for the animals, who mostly live in bare cages now. We will also have a marketing campaign to attract people to visit the zoo and to gain more volunteers to help SA in this effort. We are hoping to raise money for 36 visits through the Gofundme fundraiser, and once people see what we are doing, we hope to raise the remaining funds within Kinshasa.
Expenses will be as follows:
« Purchase of food
It will important to buy food for all different species living at the zoo. The following includes all types of food and amounts for all animals:
Nature of food, Quantity, Unit Price, Total Price (US$)
Meat, 27 Kg, 2,00 USD, 54.00 USD
Vegetables & Fruits, 488,25 Kg, 0,75 USD, 366.19 USD
Insects, 0,4 Kg, 1,00 USD, 0.40 USD
Total / Week, 420.59 USD for approximately 80 animals
Sub-total: $420 x 36 (visits) = US$15,120
« Buy cleaning equipment
- Gloves : $4 x 10 = $40
- Boots : $5 x 10 = $50
- Brushes : $5 x 10 = $50
- Garbage Bags: $5 (25pces) x 18 = $90
- Dustpan: $1 x 10 = $10
- Dust Protection (e.g., high quality masks) : $4 x 10 x 36 = $1440
Sub-total : US$1680
« Buy enrichment supplies
Rope, safe toys : $20 x 36 = $720
Sub -total: US$720
« Visibility
This is important for the awareness of people who will want to accompany us in this activity and to get more visitors to the zoo. We hope by raising visibility, we will gain more volunteers to help us. The more people there are, the greater the effect and impact.
The media campaign will be divided over 8 months at US$95 per month. We will use local TV and social media to attract volunteers and to let people know how we are improving the zoo and that they should return for a visit.
Sub-total: US$760
« Transportation
The articles we buy will need to be brought to the zoo, and for feeding 80 animals and cleaning the grounds, that is a lot of material!
$50 x 36 = $1800
Sub-total: $1,800
TOTAL OF THE PROJECT: $20,080 covers 36 visits with food, enrichment supplies, cleaning, and public relations/marketing.
Among the 80 animals at the zoo now, there are:
10 Crocodiles
4 Eagles
2 Vultures
1 Raccoon
1 Wild cat
1 Jackal
2 Varans
1 Boa
30 Monkeys and Chimps
2 Ostriches
15 Parrots