Six young lions rescued from the illegal wildlife trade as a part of Qatar Airways Cargo WeQare initiative .
Qatar Airways Cargo has once again assisted Animal Defenders International, this time by transporting six young lions from the illegal wildlife trade to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in Johannesburg.
Mark Drusch, Chief
Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo said: “We are proud to once again be
supporting ADI, this time in bringing these six beautiful lions home to Africa.
Our WeQare Rewild the Planet initiative is our commitment to returning wildlife
and endangered species back to their natural habitat, free of charge.
“It takes a lot of effort and logistics for our team to
organise moving such large animals; from the logistics at the airports, loading
and unloading the animals from the aircraft, to ensuring the correct cages and
wellbeing of the animals are in place, but it is something we are all
collectively very proud and passionate to be a part of.”
Jan Creamer,
President, Animals Defenders International added: “The Kuwait 6 lions have
their whole lives ahead of them and will have acres of space at the ADI
Wildlife Sanctuary. We are thankful to
Qatar Airways Cargo and their WeQare program in once again supporting us by
covering the cost of the air transport back to Africa. We are also very
thankful to the ADI supporters who are helping to fund their care.”
Alzahra
Aljanabi, Senior Translator, Animal Welfare Department, Public Authority of
Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources in Kuwait: “We would
like to thank the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary for their support and efforts in
providing a better habitat for the six lions from Kuwait. We are also thankful
for Qatar Airways Cargo for generously offering the air transport. People
underestimate the risks of having wild animals as pets. They may be magnificent
creatures but they are also predators. We need more awareness to combat
wildlife trafficking”.
Qatar Airways Cargo continues to reaffirm its commitment to
animal welfare. The cargo carrier recently opened its new state-of-the-art
Animal Centre and relaunched its Live product, setting new benchmarks in the
transport of live animals. As a leading transporter, with over 550,000 animals flown
in 2023, the airline continues to advocate animal welfare globally, ensuring
operations respect and contribute positively to animal well-being.
Qatar Airways Cargo’s WeQare sustainability programme
consists of a series of focus chapters based on four core pillars: environment,
society, economy, and culture and is a conscious endeavour to create a more
positive impact on the industry and the world.
Chapter 2 – Rewild the Planet encourages the preservation of ecological balance by offering free transport to organisations involved in returning wild animals to their natural habitat.
Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s leading international air
cargo carrier is based in Doha, State of Qatar. It serves a global network of
more than 70 freighter destinations and 170 passenger destinations utilising
freighters and belly-hold passenger aircraft. The airline’s freighter fleet
includes 28 Boeing 777 freighters and 230 belly-hold planes. It also has an
extensive road feeder service (RFS) network. The cargo airline is the launch
customer for the innovative Boeing 777-8F featuring advanced technology, and a
25% improvement in fuel efficiency and emissions, with the first delivery
arriving in 2027.
As a market leader, the cargo carrier provides high
operating standards for the transportation of cargo, with considerable
investments in digitalisation, products, facilities and services. Qatar Airways
Cargo remains committed to sustainability and giving back to communities it
serves through its sustainability programme WeQare, built on the key pillars of
sustainability: environment, society, economy and culture.
With considerable investments in its products, services, quality handling, infrastructure, facilities, people and procedures at each of its destinations, the cargo carrier provides high operating standards for the transportation of cargo. Qatar Airways Cargo remains committed to sustainability and giving back to communities it serves through its sustainability programme WeQare, built on the key pillars of sustainability: environment, society, economy, and culture.