Welcome to my series of interviews with some wonderful people who work within the natural world, from zoo keepers, to museum curators and everything in between and those that are on the path to working in these positions too. Be inspired for a future where you can combine your love of nature with your day job. I hope you enjoy these interviews, that you can learn something from them and they can inspire you.

Now let me introduce you to Lindsay.....

Name

Lindsay McKenna

Location

Herefordshire, England

What do you do?

I run a rescue centre in Herefordshire for wild animals, like Lions, Monkeys, Racoons, and Meerkats. All of our rescues should be living in the wild in other countries, but instead they have been traded as pets in this country, (UK) not been looked after and need a new home.

How did you get into it?

I was eight years old and watched a film called Born Free, all about releasing Lions back into the wild where they belong. Ever since watching this film I have done whatever I can to help wild animals stay in the wild. I have helped lots of campaigns, volunteered at animal centres and spent twelve years working in South Africa doing conservation. I never had plans to set up a rescue centre for wild animals. However, one day I went to a house to buy some furniture and to my surprise found a dirty scared thin Racoon in a small cage in a dark unheated garage.  I got the furniture and the Racoon. That was step one to setting up the rescue centre. 

What made you want to do what you do?

A genuine love and respect for animals.

My motivation was a) I wanted to make a positive difference to as many animals as I could and b) to tell an ongoing story that stops people feeling it is okay to own, breed and sell a wild animal like it is a living toy. I respect animals and their right to live independent of people in the wild doing what they were designed to do, whether it is swing through the trees, fly, swim in the sea or roam through jungles and forests. Seeing a wild animal behind bars in small cages is cruel and I want to do my bit to stop this cruel trade.  

What does it involve?

We currently have 200 wild animals at the rescue centre. It involves a lot of feeding, cleaning out, keeping them healthy, giving them lots of enrichment (things to do) on a daily basis.  When we feed the animals, we try and make it rewarding by hiding food in boxes of straw or hanging the food up so they have to work to get their food as they would in the wild. We build all our own enclosures so we have fun designing homes that will give the animals lots of space and complexity. For example, in many enclosures the animals travel through tunnels to reach different parts of their home and they have trees and plants that they can browse on. 

Did you need any qualifications?

Ideally a zoo keeper qualification if you want to work in a zoo. You can also do courses on line in animal management. However, volunteering at rescue centres and zoos and joining conservation programmes are other great ways to pick up the skills and experience to work with animals.

Any tips for a young person that wants to do what you do?

Volunteer at as many different places as you can. 

What is the best part of what you do?

The best bit is seeing an animal that arrives alone, scared and ill progressing back to health and being surrounded by its own species and happy. Seeing an animal run, play, sunbathe, fly, often for the first time in their lives, makes all the long hours’ worth it.

What is the worst part of what you do?

Seeing the pain and suffering in the animals we come across. Knowing that there are thousands of animals out there right under our noses that are caged and mistreated. 

Also never having a day off as the work is 7 days a week!!

What was the first animal that you fell in love with?

A hamster called Humphrey and a polecat called Potty. 

What is your favourite place in nature?

I love being in the African bush surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of wild animals being wild and doing what wild animals do.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I don’t have spare time. The number of animals coming in means I am flat out 7 days a week 14 hours a day minimum. Animals are not a part time occupation.

If you were not doing what you do now what else would you love to do?

Going back to working in the African bush on conservation projects focused on protecting habitats (the wild) so animals actually have a place to live.

Who inspires you?

Virginia McKenna who set up the charity Born Free 

What are your hopes for the future? 

That one day it will no longer be acceptable for people to buy a wild animal and call it a pet. That we start to show real respect for other species and give them the space they need on planet earth to be born free and stay free.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about?

Everyone can make a difference by making it clear that it is cruel not cool to get a wild animal as a pet and not liking posts on Instagram, that for example show a single monkey in a bird cage. If you see or hear of any animal being mistreated, say something, try and get someone to assess the situation and take action if needed. No one is too small to make a difference and that difference could really benefit an animal who cannot ask for help.

Where can people find you? 

You can follow us on facebook where I post tons of videos about the work we do here and we have a website with lots more information about what we do, why we need to exist and how you can help.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555018177054

www.wildsideexoticrescue.co.uk

WildSide has taken in eight Mountain Lions, two Lynx and two Bob Cat against a very tight deadline, literally days, to prevent them from being euthanised when the centre holding them was closed down on welfare grounds. They cannot be wild released so they deserve the best captive home possible. Please support us in our efforts to provide this.