My name is Steven Kelly. I am 39 years old, working as a field and tour guide in South Africa, specializing in big cats. They call me the little lion man. In fact, I started as a lion handler at a local lion park. But for over 10 years now, I have been working in the tourist industry with my company WildWorldTours showing international visitors the beauty of South African Wildlife. During all those years, I seem to have developed a special connection with lions. Not only do I find them easily, they also seem to find me. Since 2022, I am living on a property near the border of the Kruger National Park, and, funny enough, during those 6 months, two prides of lions are squatting right behind the fence of where I am living. One of the males, I call him Credence, has been snared lately. I found him 4 kms from his pride, badly hurt and bleeding around the neck. Luckily, we could save him and he is now back with his pride. His behaviour makes me think he knows I was the one who found him first.

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I have witnessed some of the most brutal snaring of animals due to the illegal bush meat trade and the poaching of endangered species such as rhinos, elephants, wild dogs, pangolin, ground horn bills and many more.

In 2020, I started my first anti-snaring campaign and got South Africa’s premier Rock Band Prime Circle to help spreading the word of how bad the situation is. 

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My name is Doris Ammann, I live in Switzerland but have been travelling to South Africa for the last 25 years. On one of my safari tours, I got to know "the little lion man" Steven Kelly and found that he is indeed extremely close to wildlife in general and the gorgeous big cats in particular. We have been friends ever since and I wholeheartedly support his great project of a permanent Antisnaring Team in his area. Even though Africa seems far away from Switzerland, their planet is our planet and their animals’ agony is our agony. I have therefore decided to help Steven with his great project doing something about these indiscriminate bush bombs!

However, to launch the project, we need lead donors who are willing to fund the major part of the initial costs of the project (see budget above). Please DO get in touch with Steven Kelly or myself.

             

             Future Development

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The SnareSnatchTeam is just the beginning. Once the project is on its way and working, we have many more ideas about developing it into a long-term oriented local organization, such as

• being able to help snared animals on the spot (anesthetizing and giving them proper care) 

• Information campaigns at schools and in villages so that local people begin to understand that snaring and poaching is, apart from its cruelty, a short-lived way to income and that the future of wildlife in their area is their own future. No more animals, no safaris, no tourists, no income.

• At the same time, we want to show them additional and sustainable income sources, such as vegetable growing, fruit farming, poultry, handicraft, and wildlife protection, so that they become self-sustained.