Cheetah conservation centre plan launched by charity

An animal charity is hoping to open a new state-of-the art cheetah conservation centre by the end of the summer.

The efforts of the Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent, are part of its campaign Born to Run, to help protect the future of the cheetah.

It is hoping to raise £60,000 to go towards the new site and to support work to combat the illegal pet trade and human-wildlife conflict.

Cam Whitnall, managing director of The Big Cat Sanctuary, said: "The Born to Run campaign is a defining moment for the sanctuary; it allows us to bridge the gap between our specialist care here in Kent and vital field work in Africa."

The charity said donations made between 22 and 29 April would be doubled by the match-funding platform Big Give.

A charity spokesperson added: "At the turn of the 20th Century, 100,000 cheetahs roamed the wild; today, that number has plummeted to just 7,100.

"Now occupying only 9% of their historical range, cheetahs face an onslaught of threats, including escalating human-wildlife conflict, the illegal pet trade, and a dangerously shallow genetic pool."

The cheetah is the smallest of the big cats, but is the world's fastest land mammal.

The conservation facility would support the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria's Southern Cheetah Ex-situ Programme to safeguard a healthy captive gene pool.

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