WHAT DO WE DO?

With 60% of the planet's wildlife wiped out in 50 years, and many species facing imminent extinction, traditional conservation efforts have indisputably failed. The world now has a 10 year window to finally give wildlife the protection it deserves. National Park Rescue with African governments to rescue National Parks on the brink of collapse using no-nonsense direct-action operations to restore effective law enforcement, shut down corruption and reconnect the surrounding communities key to a park's long term survival. 


We urgently need to expand our successful operations to rescue more dying national parks, directly impacting the Species Extinction which - along with Global Warming - are the twenty-first century's greatest challenges.  But we can't do this without your backing.The future survival of wildlife lies not with wildlife charities but with you: the donors. YOU hold the power to send your money to effective or ineffective operators; to those protecting dying frontline national parks or low-risk reserves; to highly-organised direct-action teams, or office-based NGO teams. As donors, these and other choices are your power and the choices you make will determine the survival of the planet's last elephants, rhinos, lions and other species on the brink of extinction.


We are not a funder or intermediary; we are a frontline operator directly saving wildlife on the frontlines in Africa.  As such, every dollar you send us DIRECTLY funds the survival of elephants, rhinos, lions and other wildlife, which would otherwise be slaughtered at the hands of violent poachers.  Tragically, whilst well meaning, the mega-charities continue to pour billions of valuable donor dollars into naive, academic-led programs across the continent, while species spiral toward extinction.  Instead of creating robust security for wildlife, the industry continues to waste urgently-needed funds on five-star conferences; endless reports; the naive training of corrupt rangers; corruption-fuelling allowance-systems; luxury travel and accommodation; prestigious national and international offices; and networks of overpaid, ineffective managers. The massive annual cost of this 'industry' is taken from your donations to save wildlife, leaving very little to reach the rangers actually saving wildlife.

National Park Rescue is part of a small group of organisations disrupting the status quo and creating big results on small budgets by doing things differently.


Not always. Wildlife needs a level of security proportional to the threat. There are two main categories of poacher: unarmed ‘subsistence poachers’ who typically deploy snares targeting smaller animals such as antelopes, potentially motivated to break the law because of poverty. The second type is armed ‘high-value’ or ‘professional poachers’, who could be part of terrorist groups using ivory to fund terror, or part of criminal wildlife trafficking networks. Professional poachers are often well-funded, equipped and trained and ready to shoot anyone who stands between them and their target (typically elephants or rhinos). Professional poachers are a lethal threat to rangers and African communities alike. Frontline national parks which have lost huge numbers of wildlife to professional poachers have suffered a breakdown of effective security, potentially through a lack of resources, corruption, incompetence or other reasons. The rapid restoration of effective security is critical to the survival of wildlife in these national parks. In non-frontline protected areas where wildlife is largely lost to snaring by subsistence poachers, a range of passive, academic-led solutions can be effective, but the two should not be confused. National Park Rescue only assists frontline parks suffering the severe impacts of professional poaching.

With 60% of the planet’s wildlife wiped out in 50 years, and many species facing imminent extinction, traditional conservation efforts have indisputably failed. The world now has a 10 year window to finally give wildlife the protection it deserves. National Park Rescue saves African National Parks on the brink of collapse using no-nonsense direct action operations to restore effective law enforcement, shut down corruption and reconnect the surrounding communities key to a park’s long term survival.

CASE STUDY: LIVE OPERATION

OPERATION CK: ZIMBABWE

 Our teams are live inside one of Africa’s most-troubled protected areas, working alongside government staff as a single unit in the defence of wildlife.  Due to a severe lack of resources, Zimbabwe’s 2,000 square kilometre Chizarira National Park lost thousands of elephants and other wildlife, prior to the start of the operation.  According to the latest independent survey, poaching indicators have reduced by over 90% since our operation began, and the park has undergone a massive transformation.  The remarkable story of the operation is the subject of a coming documentary.   

AN NPR & ZIMPARKS OPERATION

Our 43 staff work alongside 22 wildlife authority staff as a single unit to restore wildlife security to major national parks which have suffered severe decline for a prolonged period.  Our brave and passionate teams place their own lives at risk, living inside Africa’s most-poached national parks with the aim of terminating crime and helping governments restore them.

SENIOR NPR STAFF AT THIS OPERATION

Mark Hiley

Role: Major
Field Director

Alex Ncube

Role: Lieutenant
Field Division

‘Brown’ Murambiwa

Role: Staff Sergeant
Field Division

Tanja Braun

Role: PTI
Field Division

Adam Siabula

Role: Sergeant
Logistics Division

Samora Banda

Role: Sergeant
Logistics Division

LATEST RESULTS UPDATE

National Park Rescue ranger card

BRAVERY & DEDICATION

 Unlike most soldiers or police officers, rangers have to go to work against a potentially armed and dangerous enemy EVERY SINGLE DAY which makes being a ranger one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.  Sadly, so little funding escapes the charity ‘business’ that the odds are stacked against us and many thousands of rangers have died  defending wildlife with little or no recognition and no medals for bravery. Our rangers have a level of bravery and dedication equal to any armed force in the world.

SENIOR FIGURES

Kamran Mahdavi

Executive Director

Kamran Mahdavi

Kamran has worked all over Africa in a number of industries, prior to joining National Park Rescue as its Executive Director.  Having successfully built and exited from a number of businesses, Kamran heads our development and is spearheading efforts to multiply the number of National Parks the organisation is able to rescue simultaneously.  He has a fear of spiders.

Memorable moments: Being "chased" by a black widow at our  Malawi operation, being "attacked" by a camel spider at our operation in Zimbabwe.

Kamran donates his salary back to NPR.
Dr Niall McCann of National Park Rescue in Zimbabwe

Dr Niall McCann

Conservation Director

Dr Niall McCann

Niall is an accomplished National Geographic Explorer, Biologist and award-winning TV presenter. As NPR’s Conservation Director, Niall focuses on defining NPR’s future strategy: finding troubled parks and negotiating with governments and backers. He has worked in protected area law enforcement all over the world. Niall oversees all rescue operations and divides his time between the UK and African operations.

Memorable moments: Being charged by a tiger in Nepal, being in a Mexican standoff in Honduras.
picture of Mark Hiley

Mark Hiley

Director: Rescue Operations

Mark Hiley

Mark is based in Africa and heads the Ranger Force, Logistics and Operations teams to restore law enforcement in its most troubled frontline hotspots.  He has worked as a National Park Ranger, trainer and undercover operative, working in national parks in five African countries since the 90s. He is currently based at our operation in Zimbabwe.

Memorable moments: Crash-landing in a Russian Antinov in Tanzania with 4 black rhinos onboard during a translocation, and being appointed the first foriegn National Park Ranger by the Malawi Government. 

Regan Hall

Media Director

Regan Hall

An internationally renowned filmmaker, Regan’s successful career has seen him work all over the world often with a famous celebrity in front of the camera. Born and raised in New Zealand, he learnt about wildlife conservation from a young age. Regan is Media Director and focuses on our social media and press engagement.

Memorable moments: Narrowly escaping drowning in the Pacific Ocean, and being held at gunpoint by Jordanian secret police

Pippa Suthers

Events Director
Picture of Pieter van Hassalt

Pieter van Hasselt

Development Director

Pieter van Hasselt

Pieter is a Major Backer and an active Cobra member, focusing on the organisation's development. He has a background in Physics and Finance and spent time both in academia and business. He has sponsored various projects over the years, in particular through his parents’ work in Southern Africa.  

Memorable moments: Preventing a suicide on the German Autobahn, and celebrating with the children of the School of the Deaf in Botswana.

Pieter donates his salary back to NPR.

Jamie Lorenz

Director

Jamie Lorenz

Jamie is one of the founders of NPR as well as a Major Backer. He was instrumental in supporting early African government negotiations and raising funds. Jamie is an entrepreneur with success in various fields of business. His latest venture is producing plant based Foods. Jamie is a regular visitor the organisation's National Parks.

CELEBRITY BACKERS & NPR AMBASSADORS

Sir Michael Caine

Backer/Supporter

Sir Michael Palin

Backer/Supporter

Sir Roger Moore

(1927-2017) Backer/Supporter

Rupert Everett

Backer/Supporter

David Walliams

Backer/Supporter

Terry Jones

(1942-2020) Backer/Supporter

Linda Bougheraba

Operation Backer/Ambassador

Linda Bougheraba

Linda has travelled the world as an international fashion model for brands from Dolce & Gabbana to Disney. She loves wildlife but HATES spiders. After witnessing the horrific treatment of elephants in Thailand, she made it her life’s purpose to help save wildlife, backed by a charitable foundation set up by her and her fiancé. As well as being a National Park Rescue Patron and Ambassador, Linda is a Major Backer of existing operations, and is currently rallying support to save another major National Park, it’s wildlife and communities (but not the spiders!).

Christian Hesselhoj

Ambassador

Christian Hesselhoj

Danish entrepreneur, Christian Hesselhoj, has connections across the business and entertainment worlds. As a National Park Rescue Ambassador, he works hard to make critical introductions with backers, including his successful family. The result of Christian’s enthusiasm and belief in our work has, with no benefit to himself, directly or indirectly resulted in the generation of hundreds of thousands of pounds for our urgent rescue operations.

A HIGHLY-EFFECTIVE MODEL

Some National Parks are the size of small countries, with a community of rangers and park staff within its borders, and multiple surrounding communities, often consisting of thousands of people, living just beyond its borders.  We see it all as a single eco-system with co-dependent parts, each of which can not exist effectively without the other.  People and wildlife must benefit from one another and learn to co-exist together.  At the core of our system is a fundamental belief that local people should be empowered to save their own natural heritage.  Our success proves beyond doubt: it works.

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