![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Warren-Ellis.png\")
\u201cWarren and I\nhave known each other around 30 years, I hadn\u2019t seen him since he moved to\nParis a while ago and we caught up at a film launch,\u201d Jane said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI told him\nwhat I was doing with Palm Oil Investigations and he said he would love to do\nsomething at some stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe kept in\ncontact via email and started talking about animals.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ellis informed\nJane of his interest in establishing a wildlife sanctuary, and she felt\nconfident about working on a project with Femke den Haas from Jakarta Animal\nAid Network (JAAN). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI first came\ninto contact with Femke when she messaged our Palm Oil Investigations page and\nsaid she\u2019d like to get involved,\u201d Jane said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAround 2015\nwe ended up funding a wildlife raid where Femke needed some funds to go in (for\nan animal rescue), and she and I have been connected ever since\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a\nmeeting with den Haas, Ellis was informed there was 5000 sq m of land available\nnext to her wildlife centre in South Sumatra that would be ideal for animals\nunsuitable for release back into the wild due to injury and mistreatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEventually my\nfamily and I were able to purchase and donate the land to JAAN,\u201d Ellis said in\na statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jane said\nEllis wanted to be hands-on with the project and had no interest in simply\n\u2018dumping money\u2019 into something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are a\nlot of charities out there, and with a lot of the large charities a lot of the\nmoney goes into admin,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Femke-den-Haas-2.png\")
\u201cWith Femke\nthere is a team of volunteers, and I knew it would be perfect.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The process of\nbuilding Ellis Park is being documented on its social media pages, which Jane\nbelieves fosters a feeling of connectedness with donors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to\nengage people and let them see what they\u2019re doing,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jane said the\ncombination of den Haas, Ellis and herself has expanded the reach of the Park\u2019s\neducational message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJAAN has a\nmassive following of Indonesian supporters who really back what they\u2019re doing,\nwhereas myself and Warren, our following and feedback is mainly outside those\nareas,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWarren\u2019s got\nquite a large following, and of course the Bad Seeds have a large following,\nand it\u2019s a completely different demographic of people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One message\nEllis Park aims to communicate regards the plight of animals involved in the\ntourist trade, including dancing monkeys who are poached from the jungle and\ntrained to stand on their hind legs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBasically,\nthey have a noose put around their necks, and they\u2019re hung so that their tippy\ntoes are on the ground,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTheir hands\nare bound behind their backs and if they try to get down, they hang\nthemselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re kept\nlike that for quite some time [and] they\u2019re taught to dance, ride bikes,\nscooters; they are quite often beaten.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the\nmonkeys due to reside at Ellis Park is Baron, a former pet who was beaten over\nthe head with an iron pole and now has brain damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Baron-shortly-after-rescue.png\")
A female sun\nbear named Balou will also make the facility her home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Balou was\npoached from Sumatran jungle by a wildlife trader before being smuggled to\nBali. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was\nremoved from her mother prior to weaning and was not able to learn the\nessential skills of the jungle necessary to survive a release into the\nwild. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSun bears\nhave their canine teeth removed so tourists can have a photo with them,\u201d Jane\nsaid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTourism is a\nreal issue, and a lot of that comes from Australians, people from the UK,\npeople from Europe \u2026 tourists travel to places like Indonesia and think that\nit\u2019s okay to have a photo with a bear, or think that it\u2019s okay to feed a\ndancing monkey because it\u2019s cute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFemke says\n\u2018every single person that does these photo opportunities is contributing to the\nproblem\u2019; we\u2019re hoping to educate people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jane said she\nis pleased the work the Ellis Park team is doing is helping free-up den Haas to\nfocus on animal rescue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better\nwhen she doesn\u2019t have to worry about fundraising, the Facebook, the Instagram,\u201d\nshe said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking\nthat over from her so that she\u2019s not overwhelmed, and she\u2019s free to rescue,\ncampaign and work with government.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once Ellis\nPark is complete, Jane and her team are looking towards a “couple of\nhectares” of land nearby as a possible home for retired elephants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t\nknow how to survive in the wild, and they\u2019re absolutely broken,\u201d she\nsaid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey need a\nlot of land, so that will be our next aim.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n