2022 IS BORN FREE'S 'YEAR OF THE LION'

A year of action for lions in honour of the 100th birthday year of our charity’s fearless founder and lionheart, Bill Travers MBE.

Throughout the year, we're calling on the public to help halt the devastating decline in wild lions and campaign for the welfare of lions exploited in zoos, circuses and as ‘pets’. Our Forever Lions fund, set up in memory of Bill, will raise funds and awareness to address the plight of lions.

Together, we've already achieved so much...

In January, we launched our Born Free Forever exibition in London, and it has since moved to Newcastle and now Bristol, where members of the public can marvel at our pride of 25 life-sized bronze lion sculptures, crafted by wrold-renowned artists Gillie and Marc. Visit for free and find out more about some of the lions Born Free has helped over the years. Next stop Edinburgh in the autumn!
Also in January, thanks to your help, we finally relocated our Lions of Lockdown to their forever home at Shamwari in South Africa.
In June, Simba a young lion rescued from Russia, was brought to a new sanctuary home in Italy for specialist lifetime care. We now need to Build Simba a Home!
We've also launched Walk on the Wild Side, inviting people across the country to put their best foot forward, and raise funds and awareness for the 20,000 remaining wild lions with a 20,000 step challenge.
AND let's not forget our Mane Event: ROAR celebrations this September!
There are also plenty of ways you can support our work from your own home - we want to hear you ROAR!

We can't wait to see what the second half of 2022 looks like, thanks to YOUR support!

PLEASE DONATE TODAY

Your donation will help wild and captive lions by providing safe and appropriate homes, promoting co-existence, increasing education, and supporting our efforts to ban trophies and other forms of exploitation. Where donations exceed the target, or after the fund has closed, they will be used to support our vital work to help wildlife worldwide.

FOREVER LIONS: WHY WE MUST ACT NOW

Our Forever Lions fund is a vital new fundraising campaign which offers hope for the species. Lion numbers have been decimated from 200,000 a century ago to just 20,000 today. These iconic animals could be extinct across much of their wild range by 2050.

We must act now.

Throughout our 'Year of the Lion', the Forever Lions fund will focus on four key objectives to tackle the real issues lions face right now:

FOREVER TOGETHER

Achieving co-existence for 2,000 people, 200 lions and 20 communities

FOREVER HOME

Providing safe and appropriate homes and care for 30 rescued lions.

FOREVER FUTURE

Doubling the charity’s UK school outreach, empowering future generations.

FOREVER WHOLE

Persuading countries to follow the UK’s lead in banning hunting trophy imports.

"Born Free’s Year of the Lion is our chance raise awareness, raise funds, roar for lions, put things right - and ensure a forever future for lions.”
~ Will Travers OBE

TAKING ACTION IN 2022

January 3rd 2022, would have been the 100th birthday of Born Free's fearless founder and lionheart, Bill Travers MBE.

Sadly, Bill died suddenly in 1994, but his energy, compassion and strength live on in the work of our charity. We are passionate about wild animal welfare and Compassionate Conservation. We work tirelessly to stop the exploitation and suffering of individual animals living in captivity or in the wild. And lions are at the heart of our work.

Our Forever Lions Fund, set up in memory of Bill to mark our Year of the Lion in 2022, will raise vital funds and awareness for these iconic animals.

“My Dad was a special person. His integrity and honesty touched everyone he met. He always seemed to have time for anyone who needed his help. He was a relentless fighter for justice. He was a Lion – courageous, protective, strong, and fearless. Along with Virginia, he was and remains my, and our, inspiration.” ~ Will Travers