Founded by Virginia McKenna DBE, Will Travers OBE and Bill Travers MBE in 1984, Born Free work tirelessly to stop the exploitation and suffering of wild animals, whether living in captivity or in the wild. From the start, they’ve campaigned for a future where animals and people can coexist and where threatened and endangered species are protected for generations to come.

Fondation Brigitte Bardot, or FBB, works for the protection of wild and domestic animals in France and internationally. Founded by cinema icon Brigitte Bardot, FBB acts directly on the ground through aid to shelters, animal rescues and sterilisation campaigns for stray animals, as well as by directly communicating with the public and engaging in the animal protection conversation at events and conferences.

OAT is a family trust established to end animal cruelty and exploitation by supporting organisations and initiatives concerned with animal welfare and conservation. The trust seeks partners and projects that are aligned with their vision and are achieving positive outcomes on the ground. This embodies the values of the Olsen family, inspired by their love of all animals.

Pangea’s site straddles the two municipalities of Alandroal and Vila Viçosa.  Both mayors and their teams have committed to help Pangea into operations as soon as possible.  The guidance provided thus far has been vitally important.

The University of Évora is the largest university in the region. It is renowned for its environmental research and has a competitive veterinary programme. Pangea is very grateful for the support of the Applied Ecology Research Group for their commitment to designing and implementing Pangea’s research initiatives.

PLMJ is Portugal’s largest law firm and have provided open-ended legal support across all their departments since 2022. Their expertise has been invaluable throughout the land acquisition and licensing progress.

Elephant Family works predominantly in Asia with in-country conservation experts to tackle the challenges facing Asia’s wildlife and the indigenous communities that live alongside them.  They have kindly partnered with Pangea to allow funds raised in the US to be passed through their US arm, meaning that donors can benefit from their 501c(3) status.

GSE is a US-registered NGO established in 2013 whose sanctuary in Brazil is currently home to elephants rescued from zoos and circuses across South America.  Its founders have a combined 50 years of elephant experience, including the establishment of both the GSE and the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.  Their input into the Pangea’s facilities design has been invaluable and they continue to provide technical support in elephant management, helping to build capacity and ensure shared learnings.

Rewilding Portugal’s mission is to promote nature conservation through nature recovery measures. Their work to date has focused in the Greater Côa Valley in northern Portugal, a region where high rates of land abandonment have created opportunities for bringing nature back.  RP will be responsible for land management at Pangea, helping to maximise biodiversity on site for the benefit of both elephants and the native wildlife.

Sofie and Tony Verlhust established Elephant Haven in France. They currently have capacity for three female elephants and we look forward to working together to help more of Europe’s elephants in need.