Thanks SO much to Vicky Luker and her family and friends who raised enough funds for LFP to support the purchase of vital LFP field equipment.

Car boot and table top sales seem to have become increasingly popular these days in my home city, Bradford.  Recently, my husband and I took the plunge and set up a stall at a table top sale at a local church.  We made £50 for The Little Fireface Project, and decided to run another stall a couple of weeks later, where we made £35.  We also printed off information leaflets about the plight of the lorises, and what people can do to help them.  We gave out almost a hundred leaflets over both events.

Family, friends and neighbours donated bric a brac to sell, and my sister made cakes and scones, as well as donating plants.  She attends a sewing class, and even made shopping bags and cushions for the stall.  Her husband donated some motorcycle boots, which turned out to be worth so much money that we removed them from the stall and have put them on EBay to get a better price for them.  Friends and family have also come along to the events, bought items and made cash donations, and my dad has paid for the hire of the tables.

What we were not prepared for was the level of interest and concern shown by members of the public when we explained about the plight of the lorises.  Let’s face it, Bradford is a long way from Indonesia!  Why would anybody care?  But despite everything else going on in the world, and despite having troubles of their own, my fellow citizens have taken leaflets and engaged in conversations about the lorises.  Many bought items from the stall and told me to “keep the change”.  Generally speaking, most of the people we have met care about animals, no matter how far away they are.

Bradford is not a wealthy city.  It is predominantly working class and used to be the centre of the global wool trade (just ask my dad!).  The city has a proud history of welcoming people from all over the world, from the German wool ‘barons’ of Victorian times, to Europeans fleeing Nazi Germany, to people from Pakistan and India who came to work in the mills after the second world war.  We host the National Media Museum, we are the first UNESCO City of Film, and the Brontes were born here.  Over ninety languages are spoken in Bradford, but one word has been added to the local dictionary – Loris!  These little creatures have a small army of defenders growing in the most unlikely of places, a city often the victim of bad press and prejudice, but which has a heart of gold when someone, or something, needs help. – VL

Below is the text from fliers that Vicky made available at her table

YOU CAN HELP SAVE A SPECIES!

Lorises are shy primates that live in the rainforest.  They are unique because they use a venomous bite to catch their prey, BUT THEY POSE NO THREAT TO HUMANS.  They are critically endangered due to habitat destruction and because they are illegally caught and sold as pets. 

THE LORISES NEED EVERY FRIEND THEY CAN GET!!  PLEASE DON’T LET YET ANOTHER SPECIES DISAPPEAR…

• Please visit https://www.nocturama.org to see the work of The Little Fireface Project, based in Oxford.  They are fighting to save the lorises.
• Please sign their petition / make a donation
• Please tell your family and friends about the lorises!!

THANK YOU!!