Etihad Cargo transports rescued Servals to South Africa

This relocation was made possible thanks to the tireless efforts of Etihad Airways who provided the flights for the servals, and three organisations, Born Free Foundation, Natuurhulpcentrum and Panthera Africa.

The four servals were kept illegally as pets in Belgium before they were rescued. As they did not have names, the four animals were temporarily named after the city they were rescued in – Kinrooi, Mechelen, Roeselare, and Diepenbeek. The Belgian authorities granted custody of the servals to Natuurhulpcentrum, a wildlife rescue in Belgium, where a dedicated team have been taking care of them until their relocation to their new home. As the centre is only a temporary centre for animals, it searched for a lifetime sanctuary home, until Born Free Foundation offered to relocate them into the Born Free Rescue Section at Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary.

Born Free funded four new purpose-built enclosures and the Panthera Africa Team set to work to build them. Lizaene Cornwall-Nyquist, co-founder of Panthera Africa, said, “We have been waiting for the servals’ arrival for nearly two years and the global pandemic has kept us from relocating these beautiful cats to our sanctuary. We are very excited to welcome them — both for them to be back in Africa and have a peaceful natural home to live in, and also for us, as these are the first servals that will be joining our pride. We are very excited to learn their behaviour and get to know them as individuals. And once again, we feel very honoured and privileged to work with Born Free and NCH, as well as Etihad Airways who sponsored the flights for this relocation.”

Andrea Donaldson of Born Free said, “It is extraordinary to think that, in 2022, we are needing to rescue and relocate servals, an African wild cat, from the European pet trade back to their ancestral home. However, after a long and complex process, and one that was made more difficult by the outbreak of COVID-19, it is amazing to know that these four servals will now be waking up in their forever home, bathing in the warm African sunshine and surrounded by the sights and the sounds of the bushland. Everyone at Born Free is extremely grateful to Etihad Cargo who looked after our servals in flight on their journey to South Africa and we know they will live their best possible life, given their unhappy story so far, in the care of Panthera Africa.”

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of flights by Etihad Airways, the servals were transported safely to South Africa. Mariam Al Qubaisi, Head of Sustainability and Business Excellence, Etihad Airways, said: “Biodiversity protection and conservation is one of our core focus areas alongside decarbonisation and waste management. Etihad takes pride in its efforts to combat the illegal transportation of endangered species and, whenever possible, facilitate the repatriation of species to their native ecosystems.”

Martin Drew, senior vice president sales and cargo at Etihad Aviation Group said: “Etihad Cargo is pleased that the movement of the servals will be the first booking to be made using the Forever Home policy. The safety and wellbeing of animals transported on Etihad Cargo is vital and is guaranteed using the IATA CEIV accredited LiveAnimals product.”