The Land Rover ‘Born to be Free’ lion is set free and helps to raise £75,000 for Charities
From (Left to right): Born Free Founder and actress, Virginia McKenna and Martin Clunes stand next to Land Rover’s Born to Be Free lion.
Fifty-five lion sculptures were auctioned in Bournemouth over the weekend as part of Pride in Bournemouth, a public arts event which aims to raise vital funds for charity. Celebrity auctioneer James Lewis hosted the event and a number of other personalities attended the event, including actor Martin Clunes and actress Virginia McKenna. The auction was a great success and a staggering £75,000 was raised for charity in total.
Amongst these lion sculptures was the Westover Land Rover lion, Born to be Free, which was designed by local artist Hazel Evans from Poole’s centre for the arts, the Lighthouse. We’re happy to announce that this colourful and beautifully designed lion was sold for an impressive £1,000, with the proceeds being split between the Born Free Foundation and local Bournemouth charity, Julia’s House.
This money will help the foundation to fund lion-proof bomas in Kenya. The bomas are traditional community settlements which use a cut ring of thorns to enclose an area into which cattle are herded at night. This protects the cattle from preying lions who may otherwise attack; lions that do kill cattle often face persecution by communities.
The auction of these beautiful lion sculptures will therefore enable the Foundation to continue to protect and conserve the wonderful wildlife and habitats in Kenya.
