Our Vision and Mission
Born Free USA’s vision is a co-existent future where humans no longer exploit wild animals.
We work to ensure that all wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild, are treated with compassion and respect and are able to live their lives according to their needs.
Our Purpose
As a leading wildlife charity, we oppose the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and campaign to keep them where they belong – in the wild.
We promote Compassionate Conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in the wild and protect natural habitats while respecting the needs and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals.
We seek to have a positive impact on animals in the wild and protect their ecosystems in perpetuity, for their own intrinsic value and for the critical roles they play within the natural world.
Our History
In 1966, Dame Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers MBE starred in the classic wildlife film Born Free. The film told the true story of conservationists Joy and George Adamson who rescued a lioness cub named Elsa and successfully returned her to the wild.
Virginia and Bill went on to make several wildlife films together, including in 1969 An Elephant Called Slowly with an elephant calf called Pole Pole. Although Virginia and Bill did everything they could to prevent this, when filming ended, Pole Pole was gifted to London Zoo by the Kenyan government. In 1982, Virginia and Bill went to visit Pole Pole at the zoo and the elephant, in clear distress, remembered Virginia and Bill and stretched out her trunk to reach them.
Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna reach out to Pole Pole at the London Zoo. Even in her distress, she remembers them. Virginia and Bill launched a campaign to give Pole Pole a better life but, in 1983, at age 16, Pole Pole died. Determined that her death would not be in vain, in 1984, Virginia, Bill and their eldest son Will launched Zoo Check – the charity that has evolved into Born Free.
