Northamptonshire-based Moulton College has announced an exciting new partnership with Europe’s leading wildlife cryo-biobank, Nature’s SAFE, as part of efforts to help protect endangered species.

Led by conservation scientists and animal fertility experts, Nature’s SAFE is a charity dedicated to preserving living cells and tissues from threatened animals, ensuring their genetic material is available to support future conservation and restoration programmes.

Dr Alice Clark, Communications Manager and Conservation Scientist at Nature’s SAFE, explains: “Around 18,000 animal species worldwide are formally recognised as being at risk of extinction – the real number is likely higher. By banking living cells and working with managed breeding programmes, Nature’s SAFE aims to give conservationists a vital tool to restore genetic diversity in dwindling animal populations, improving their health, resilience to climate change, and chances of long-term survival.”

As part of their work, Nature’s SAFE partners with more than 90 zoos, wildlife parks, and rescue centres across the UK to capture samples from species at risk, using advanced cryopreservation techniques to preserve cell structure and viability for future use. To date, the charity has preserved samples from over 350 different species of mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, birds, and coral, including the Sumatran tiger, the ring-tailed lemur, and the Eurasian red squirrel.

By partnering with Moulton College, which houses more than 140 different species at its Animal Welfare Centre, Nature’s SAFE is set to expand its genetic archive further.

Dean Sharman Frost, Animal Facilities Manager at Moulton College, explains: “I first learned of Nature’s SAFE at a talk given by founder and Chair, Tullis Matson. As a College, we play a key role in animal welfare education and conservation, and our Animal Welfare facilities are home to a wide range of different species, from cockroaches to meerkats. We are passionate about safeguarding endangered species, so we are delighted to have become a partner of the Nature’s SAFE conservation network.”

Moulton College offers a range of animal welfare, veterinary and zoology courses from Level 1 through to degree level. Students are taught best practice skills, studying within the College’s Animal Welfare facilities. These facilities meet the highest UK standards, with Dean’s team dedicated to providing the best care and exceptional training for the College’s animals and students respectively.

Dean adds: “As cell samples become available, our team will work closely with Nature’s SAFE, helping to safeguard species for generations to come. Nature’s SAFE is an incredible charity, and we are proud to support their vital conservation work.”

Visit www.moulton.ac.uk to learn more about the range of Animal Welfare courses on offer. To find out more about Nature’s SAFE, visit www.natures-safe.com