A LEIGH SINTON firm has shown its support to the fight against poaching in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with the delivery of ranger cap badges to the Forgotten Parks Foundation.
Selcraft UK delivered a special commission of the badges to the charity which has recently invested in its ranger force and commissioned the Malvern company to make a specially designed ranger cap badge.
The local company were keen to ensure the rangers were not only professionally turned out with the specially commissioned badge but also delighted to add the finishing touch to the their uniform (pictured).
Selcraft UK have been designing and producing award-winning insignia for more than 45 years with works exported to mainland Europe, Arabia, North America and now Africa.
Director Carl Huxley, said: “Distilled in the badge design is 47 years’ experience in creativity and manufacturing excellence. I’m equally thrilled the rangers are wearing the badges with as much pride as we had in creating them.”
Decades of poaching and conflict across Democratic Republic of Congo have led to the total decimation of the country’s northern white rhino. Today, only two northern white rhinos remain on the planet, so having the rhino as the official logo of the FPF acts as a daily visual reminder of the end goal: the safe return of the rhinoceros to DRC.
Overseeing the reintroduction of the rhino to Upemba and Kundelungu National Parks is the FPF’s ultimate goal and Jim Muir from the foundation said: “I’m delighted to say the first squad of rangers undergoing training completed their induction course towards the end of last year.”
Robert Muir, chief warden and joint founder of FPF added: “For years, our rangers have worked hard to ensure the protection of these National Parks and the remaining wildlife, often making do with old and tattered uniforms.
“These rhino badges are also a way of letting them know — as well as the wider world — that their work at Upemba and Kundelungu will go forgotten and unnoticed no longer.”
Visit www.forgottenparks.org for more on the work of the foundation.
