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Interactive education for kids July 31st 2022

Educating about the fate of big cats
There is a lot of animal suffering in the world; consciously and unconsciously, we may all be participating in it. Learn more about this on the education gallery of Stichting Leeuw: from circus animals, cute cuddly lions and Chinese medicines to critically endangered Siberian tigers. Spreading the message… For young and old, the message comes across even better with interactive education. It is a great wish of Stichting Leeuw to realise this.

Education at Stichting Leeuw

One of the objectives of Stichting Leeuw is education. The foundation wants to make visitors aware of the ways in which big cats are threatened worldwide and show how people can influence their fate on a small and large scale. Stichting Leeuw also provides education on the website and on social media.

On the gallery in the Stichting Leeuw building you can find a lot of information about the endangered felines. Here you will learn more about: circus animals, cute cuddly lions, Chinese medicines and critically endangered Siberian tigers.

“We used to watch lions or tigers perform in the circus with open mouths. Together we have decided that something like this is really no longer desirable nowadays.”

What can we do or not do to prevent the mistreatment of lions, tigers and other felines? Sometimes seemingly innocent actions can have a huge impact on an animal’s life. Take, for example, posing with ‘photo lions’. Small cubs are taken away from their mother at a very young age to pose with tourists. As long as there are tourists who want to take pictures with cubs, this form of animal abuse will continue.

Origin of the animals at Stichting Leeuw

Shelter for big cats is in high demand. Where do all those big cats in distress come from?

  1. 30% of the animals come from a circus
    There are an estimated 350 big cats still living in circuses in Europe. In more and more European countries, performing with wild animals in a circus is prohibited and therefore the number of animals in need is increasing.
  2. 45% of the animals come from private individuals and breeding centers
    For example, lion Omar was rescued from a criminal’s backyard, he lived in a small cage and was severely malnourished. The Persian panther Fred comes from a Polish breeding center.
  3. 20% of the animals come from a war situation
    Due to, among other things, the war in Ukraine, many big cats are saved from dangerous circumstances. The animals need a new and safe home.
  4. 5% of animals come from animal parks
    Big cats are a problem when animal parks go bankrupt. In addition, some zoos have a surplus of animals due to a lack of breeding policy. The young cubs attract visitors, unfortunately after a while there is no more room for these animals.

Raising awareness about the consequences of keeping animals for human entertainment is necessary to prevent this animal suffering.

Project: Interactive Education for Youth

Since 2021, various projects have been planned that contribute to achieving the objectives. One of the projects concerns interactive education on the gallery in the shelter of Stichting Leeuw. Stichting Leeuw believes in information and education of young people. Many families with children visit Stichting Leeuw. Stichting Leeuw would like to inspire these children, parents and other visitors to protect animals. Information and education are among the most important means that can be used to promote animal welfare, prevent animal suffering and raise awareness about animal welfare.

“There is a lot of animal suffering in the world, consciously and unconsciously we may all participate in it.”

With interactive education, Stichting Leeuw wants to create awareness about the consequences of human behaviour with regard to animal suffering. Especially children are given the opportunity to build up knowledge in an interactive way and are stimulated to think consciously and make their own choices. A child who learns about the welfare of lions in an active and fun way will tell parents, family, friends and classmates about this. They take this knowledge with them throughout their lives and it will influence their behaviour later in life.

Stichting Leeuw has a large education gallery with various themes. The goal is to implement various interactive education systems. It is a great wish of Stichting Leeuw to realise the ‘interactive education project’. With your help, we can do that! This is a great project for people, companies and funds who find it important to support projects within the Netherlands aimed at animal welfare, education and youth.

If you would like more information about sponsoring this project, please contact us by email.