Paige, 7, raises £1,000 for rhino conservation

Paige Bavin on her seventh day of her sponsored walk at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Paige Bavin has taken part in a two-week sponsored walk, walking two miles every day in all weather conditions from December 4 to Sunday (December 17), to raise awareness and funds to protecting rhinos from the devastating impacts of poaching.

She took part in the daily walks alongside family, friends, and classmates – with one of the walks held at Yorkshire Wildlife Park as part of their Santa Safari 3K Fun Run on Saturday (December 9).

Paige's campaign has been aiming to raise awareness of the tragic fact that a rhino is poached every 15 hours across Sub Saharan Africa, raising money for Dogs 4 Wildlife, which specialises in breeding and training anti-poaching dogs to be deployed to Africa to join the fight against rhino poaching and wildlife crimes.

Contribute to Paige's fundraiser via this QR code.

Paige's fundraising efforts will directly support the training and deployment of Nkosi, a puppy Bavarian Hound who will be among the heroic dogs leading the charge in the battle against poaching.

With 15 operational dogs across four Southern African countries, The Dogs 4 Wildlife K9's help achieve up to a 75 percent reduction in poaching numbers.

Lisa Bavin, Paige’s mum, explained that Paige has always had a “deep affection for rhinos” since she was two years old:

"When she was two we went to Yorkshire Wildlife Park and she saw the rhinos there, and she didn’t want to leave – we were there for 45 minutes!” she said.

Paige with her rhino-inspired 7th birthday cake.

"Ever since that day she has loved rhinos and this year she was asking how she could help rhinos in the wild and we came up with this challenge.”

Paige said: "When I heard about how rhinos are in danger because of poaching, I wanted to do something to help. I love animals, and I think everyone should try to save them.”

"I hope my walk will help Dogs 4 Wildlife train more dogs like Nkosi so they can keep the rhinos safe."

So far, Paige’s challenge has raised £1,065 for Dogs 4 Wildlife, and Lisa added: “I’m so proud of her, and she said after her last walk on Sunday that she wants to do another walk and she said she wants to do more fundraising as well, which just speaks volumes.”

You can still donate to Paige’s fundraising campaign by visiting her JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/PaigebavinDOGS4WILDLIFE?utm_term=R38DAqgJK