For 30 years, Englishwoman Jan Creamer, now 65, has dedicated her life to abused and mistreated animals. Laboratories, circuses, farms, abattoirs, fur factories - she's rescued animals from across the globe. She fights from the front lines, going to many of the rescues herself, and has even created an association, Animal Defenders International.And now, she has been recognized as a 'visionary' in her field.
Source: Lion Ark
The work of Jan Creamer and her husband, Tim Phillips, has not always been all fun and games, sometimes being incredibly dangerous, as she told English newspaper,The Mirror.
Source: Lion Ark
Their exploits have saved hundreds of animals, including lions, bears, tigers and monkeys, among others. One of their operations in Peru and Bolivia led to the liberation of 60 lions, kept in minuscule circus cages. To honor determined wife's work, Tim Phillips made a film, Lion ark, which was released in 2013. The film portrays their different missions in South America.Tim told The Mirror:
In Peru alone we rescued more than 100 animals. We took 30 lions back to Africa and re-housed bears at a sanctuary in the forests of Chile.
Source: Lion Ark
One of their most amazing successes was the 1999 arrest of Mary Chipperfield, an English celebrity monkey trainer who provided the BBC with many animal performers. During one mission, Jan and Tim filmed the violence suffered by the animals in Chipperfield's circus with a hidden camera. Chipperfield was given a fine of £8500 ($11,509).
Source: Lion Ark
Jan and Tim have sometimes been directly threatened during their missions. Whilst trying to save the tigers and lions in the Akef Egyptian Circus, which traveled all over Africa, they crossed paths with a trafficker in Mozambique who was interested in tiger bones and who made it plain to them that they ought to leave the area as soon as possible.
Source: Lion Ark
Jan and Tim's work has allowed things to change for the better in many countries. Some have even banned animal circuses on their territory.The association always tries to get the creatures back into their natural habitat, but sadly that is not always possible. This was the case for the lions taken from the Egyptian circus.
Their teeth are smashed in and they’ve had their toes cut off so their claws won’t grow. They couldn’t hunt for themselves.
Source: Lion Ark
Jan Creamer's commitment to animal causes was rewarded at the beginning of September by the Albert Einstein Association, on the 100-year anniversary of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. She received the title of "visionary", along with 99 others, including author Salman Rushdie and the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen."I am honoured to be chosen and for the positive impact of the work of Animal Defenders International to be recognised. The effects of humans on other species and our planet are devastating. The next step in human evolution is to transform our relationship with the species that share our planet," she concluded with a smile.
H/t: The Mirror
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