FUNDRAISERS from conservation charity The Aspinall Foundation will be taking to streets of Rhyl and Prestatyn on Thursday to raise funds and awareness for their work in the protection of endangered animals. Representatives from the charity will be out in force asking members of the public to help them to save animals such as the western lowland gorilla, black rhino and clouded leopard. The charity manages and supports a number of other conservation projects worldwide, including two gorilla reintroduction projects in Congo and Gabon that are home to more than 50 western lowland gorillas. An increase in poaching and the bushmeat trade has seen numbers of this gentle species halve over the last 20 years, and if they continue to decrease at the present rate, these animals will be extinct by 2020. Most of the gorillas saved by the charity are orphans who would have been sold illegally as pets, but were confiscated by local officials and handed into the protection of the Foundation’s dedicated professionals. The animals are eventually reintroduced into protected areas of land managed by the charity. Amos Courage, Overseas Project Director at The Aspinall Foundation, said: "We have been working hard to protect endangered animals but unfortunately this work doesn’t come cheaply. It costs a staggering £400,000 each year to run our African projects alone and £100,000 a year just to feed our herd of black rhino. "Any donation, however small will help. Just £7 per month could buy the dried milk used to feed the young orphan gorillas, while £10 a month could help us monitor the bushmeat trade in local towns. For £15 we could purchase tents, sleeping bags and radio handsets that our staff could use on poaching patrols. "Gorillas, rhinos, and other animals that we know and love are on the brink of extinction. If we do not act now our children may never get the chance to see these amazing creatures." School forms PARENTS wanting to put their young ones into education for the first time this year are fast running out of time. The deadline for returning application forms to Denbighshire primary schools and nurseries is January 25. Forms can be obtained from the school or for the new primary school in Prestatyn, by contacting DG Evans, Denbighshire County Council, County Hall, Ruthin LL15 1YN or e-mail ProjectAlpha@denbighshire.gov.uk | 
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