The Cat Survival Trust was
registered as a charity in 1976. Its original purpose was to promote
the conservation of wild cats by breeding them in captivity and
subsequently releasing them into suitable wild situations. Later it was
realised that this was not the best way to go about conserving the
animals; suitable wild habitat already had a population of cats and the
habitat itself was disappearing with alarming rapidity. It also costs
about £30,000 to release one cat into the wild and even then
there is only a 15% chance that it will survive to breed.
The Trust purchased a 10,000 acre reserve in north east Argentina which
conserves the entire habitat where cats live. This is not only more
cost-effective but involves the conservation of all the plants, animals
and fungi that make up the ecosystem on which the cats depend.
This first reserve was bought in pursuit of this new policy is in
Misiones, Argentina. There are five species of
cats (about 40 individuals) living there in an area of virgin forest
and funds are being sought to enable the reserve to be expanded so that
jaguars, which vanished from the area about 80 years ago, can be
reintroduced.
The reserve was, until recently managed by a charity set up for the
purpose in Argentina, the
Fundación
Selva Misionera, or
Mission
Rainforest Foundation. It has now been adopted by the
government of Misiones as a Provincial Park and is a partnership
between the charity and the government.
The Trust is now planning to purchase more natural habitat to create
more protected areas. If our plans are successful, these new reserves
will be located in seven different countries and will add substantially
to the number of cat species protected on land bought by the Trust.
The Trust also acts as a rescue organisation for "unwanted" cats from
zoos and other collections. It currently cares for about 40 cats at its
headquarters in Hertfordshire, England, many of which are rescued
animals, and the Trust desperately needs to build accomodation for
more. The cats are not on public view, but Trust members and
educational groups can visit by appointment.
The Cat Survival Trust is based
on a twelve acre site in Hertfordshire, England, where a small band of
unpaid staff manage its affairs in an overcrowded office above a shop
(which sells mainly animal foodstuffs and accessories) and also care
for the cats, maintain the site and buildings and do most of the
construction work.
Nobody working for the Trust is paid. The
shop sponsors much of the
food for the cats, everything else is paid for out of the subscriptions
of members and donations from generous people like you.
Last update: 14th September 2005