In June 2000, at the age of 74, John passed away. And his son Damian Aspinall made the decision to continue his father’s work.
Damian assumed control of the Aspinall Foundation, a group that raises endangered gorillas for release back into the wild.
A foundation says: “Through captive breeding, outreach programs, and reintroduction, we want conservation. In order to conserve endangered species, we are working in some of the world’s most sensitive animals and wild.
Western lowland gorillas are now considered to be severely endangered, according to the World Wildlife Foundation, because of disease and hunting. In fact, a 60% population decline has happened in the last 20 to 25 years.
Damian holds some unpopular opinions, but there is no doubt that he has devoted his life to rescuing animals.
In a 2012 interview, he stated, “If I had my way, I’d close down 90% of all zoos tomorrow.
“If we’re going to have [zoos], there should be a regulation requiring them to have programs to conserve their habitat and return animals into the wild.”
If not, you simply have a collection of creatures kept for human entertainment, and I don’t believe animals should be kept.
In August 2016, Damian wed Victoria Fisher, a 29-year-old business expert.
The same week [we met], he asked me to lunch, and ordinarily, I would have declined, she recalled. But I thought he was interesting. He’s one of those guys who immediately grabs your attention.
