Ensessakotteh was founded in 2010 and is a joint initiative by the international wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation (BFF), and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA).
Hailed as the first of its kind in Ethiopia, it was to be a landmark project in the country’s fight against poaching and to offer refuge for cheetah, lion and indigenous wildlife that were either orphaned and/or confiscated from the illegal trade.
Ensessakotteh, meaning ‘Animal Foot Print’ in Amharic, currently offers sanctuary to over seventy wild animals. The centre houses the rescued animals in 77-hectres of protected wilderness and is supported by Land Rover and a fully equipped Land Rover Defender to assist in the day to day running of the centre and vital rescue work.
Some $213 billion is lost annually through environmental crime in the world showing the dire situation of the planet, according to Dawed Mume, Director General of Ethiopian Wild Life conservation Authority (EWCA).
“In Africa every year 5-7 percent of the elephant population is targeted annually, and as such the recent mass burning of elephant ivory is a great contribution to fight elephant poaching” stated Mume.
Legendary actress and founder of the Born Free Foundation, Virginia McKenna OBE on her part stated that today’s event is for her dream come true.
Special guest of the event former President of Ethiopia Girma WoldeGeorgis imparted some of his wisdom in stating that in the past it was a hobby to destroy things which subsequently made the climate unbearable, however he’s seeing some improvements in fixing Ethiopia’s damaged ecosystem.