The recycling idea was launched as part of the PLA’s drive to make use of materials that would otherwise be thrown away and at the same time, it helps with wildlife conservation.
Wildlife Heritage Foundation (WHF) collected the first two pallets of rope and lifting strops last month and they are now being used at the Kent-based sanctuary’s ‘Enrichment’ enclosure as scratch posts, to keep cat claws sharp and their feline minds stimulated.
A 10-metre plastic pipe dumped in the Thames and salvaged by PLA staff will also be fashioned into play tunnels for meerkats at the WHF’s sister site in Hertfordshire.
PLA environment manager Tanya Ferry said: “It’s really rewarding to know that something we’ve finished with has been given another lease of life. It helps reduce the waste we are producing, and cuts the Foundation’s spending on ropes, which can be expensive.”
The PLA team had previously visited WHF to see how the authority’s born-again rope was being put to use.
“It’s brilliant that our old rope, which was used for towing and mooring lines has struck a chord with staff and cats at the sanctuary,” said PLA marine manager ashore, Danny Marsh. “The plastic pipe was found in the Thames near central London and had been with us for a while. As we can’t use it ourselves, what better way to reuse it, than to let meerkats have some fun?”
The 38-acre WHF site in Smarden, near Ashford, Kent, is home to a huge range of cats, including pumas, cheetahs, leopards and lions. They are encouraged to breed as part of a painstaking programme that let cats at the park thrive.
WHF spokesperson Tanith Brown thanked the PLA for its donation on behalf the Sanctuary’s 56 feline residents that will love getting to grips with the rope and strops.
She said: “These kinds of donation are really good for us, especially as we’re not open to the public in the normal sense. All help is appreciated, and anything that can help raise awareness of what we do is also welcome.”