DECAN REFUGE

The origin of this shelter lies in the limits of Dr Bertrand Lafrance's house and garden as a place to take in injured animals or victims of trafficking. The veterinarian, with the support of the Ministry of the Environment and the help of the 13th half-brigade of the Foreign Legion, undertook, in the early 2000s, the construction of this beautiful refuge which today counts about forty volunteers. The 30-hectare animal refuge, which officially opened in 2003, is home to many species of wildlife, some of which have been resettled or are endangered in the Horn of Africa. The Decan refuge takes in animals in distress, victims of traffickers or held illegally, before their seizure by the police. Depending on the period, cheetahs, lions, caracals, zebras, oryxes, porcupines, Somali donkeys, oryxes, African and Somali ostriches, gazelles, baboons, green monkeys, several dozen Djibouti tortoises and nearly 200 species of birds can be found there. A rotunda with a suspended terrace and a refreshment room have also been built, as well as an educational building. In 2014, the refuge benefits from an extension within several hundred protected hectares, the Douda Nature Reserve. The Decan refuge is undoubtedly a beautiful initiative and a very pleasant place to walk that we highly recommend. The refuge is partly financed by paying visitors and by donations. The association also manages two exceptional ecotourism camps in the country (Djalelo and Assamo).

The founder. After graduating from the Maisons-Alfort Veterinary School in 1987, Dr Lafrance arrived in Djibouti in 1990, in order to complete his military service, after a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan. Four years of practice in France followed. In 1995, he returned to Djibouti and opened the first private veterinary practice. His real contact with wildlife gave him a new mission. He then committed himself to the preservation of nature in all its forms and created the association Décan which he has chaired since 2001.

The values of the association. Preservation of Djibouti's endemic biodiversity by reintegrating animals that had disappeared from the region; raising awareness in schools and at the country's university; freedom ("animals saved from poaching are cared for and released when their lives are no longer directly threatened by man"); commitment.