The actress Virginia McKenna has tirelessly worked for her own charity for 40 years – and wants your help
I was born in 1931 – a long time ago. So much has happened to our world since then – things we could never have imagined. A world war, the creation of our National Health Service, expeditions into space, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the invention of the internet and now, social media.
I didn’t start out as a wildlife campaigner. For many years, I enjoyed my life as an actress, working with some wonderful people such as Peter Finch and Leslie Phillips (who sadly passed away just a few weeks ago). Of course, I shall always particularly treasure the roles I played opposite my late husband Bill in films such as Ring of Bright Water and Born Free.
The latter involved working in Kenya to tell the true story of George and Joy Adamson’s determination to give an orphaned lion cub, Elsa, the chance of a free, natural life. The film changed our lives.
It opened our eyes to the realities facing wild animals and wild places and led us, together with our eldest son Will, to start our charity work, firstly with Zoo Check, which evolved into the Born Free foundation.
Our efforts to help individual wild animals in distress through our rescue work, to conserve species, to work with local communities to reduce conflict with wildlife, and to promote legislation that does not harm wildlife have now been going on for nearly four decades.
At my advanced age I now have the opportunity to consider the world as it was when I was young, the world as it is today, and the world as it could be in the future. In truth, we are fighting a rearguard action to protect nature from humanity’s relentless assault.
Wild lands continue to be lost, wild species reduced (there were possibly 200,000 lions across Africa when Born Free was made in 1966 – there are probably just 20,000 today), and we continue to exploit countless wild animals in captive environments.
Today, more than a million species face extinction, and life on earth is threatened by pollution and climate change. Weather extremes and rising temperatures are reminding us that this is a problem we cannot ignore for a moment longer.
Born Free, together with many other organisations, supported by people all over the world, can help to turn the tide, especially with the help of young people who appreciate just how perilous the future is. It is my mission to make things better and, while I have breath, I will never give up.
We can each play our role, however large or small. In our daily lives we can see how each and every one of us can reduce our impact on our fragile world. For nature is not a luxury – it’s a necessity. That’s something we have come to understand better than ever before during the recent lockdowns. I want to thank The Lady for this opportunity to share my thoughts and I hope that you, its readers, resonate with both my fears and my hopes. Do please help if you can – life on earth depends on us all!
To donate, or to adopt an animal, visit bornfree.org.uk
Pictures: Land Rover; Columbia Pictures; georgelogan.co.uk
