Mark Holder owner and founder of the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre passed away in December 2014. The heirs to his farms are resident in the UK and although they wished for the centre to continue, they are not in a position to facilitate this. As a result, the property on which the Centre is located was put on the open market.

To prevent the land from being sold to developers and the centre and its very important work being shut down, the current management team decided to register a Trust, raise funds to buy the property, and place the property into the Trust. Based on the business model of Sanwild, where the land is put in Trust and the animals are the beneficiaries, securing a future for the residents, the Wildlifesos Trust (000101/2015 (M/N)) was registered at the end of February 2015.

The Trust will raise funds to pay back the purchase of the properties which have been placed in the Trust with the trustees acting as curators on behalf of the resident animals. The Wildlifesos Trust has also now been registered as a non-profit organisation (169-719 NPO) which makes all donations to the centre tax deductible. The Trust will therefore oversee the management of the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre into the future, providing a “fundraising vehicle” to ensure that the legacy Mark Holder left behind is kept alive.