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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Indigo Bailey

‘It’s very easy to make yourself appear like Bono’: Warren Ellis on opening an animal sanctuary in Sumatra

Femke den Haas and Warren Ellis in front of a sign for Ellis Park
Warren Ellis with sanctuary co-founder Femke den Haas, whose initiative provides ‘essential housing for unreleasable animals’. Photograph: Madman Entertainment

When the pandemic forced musicians all over the world to cancel tours, Warren Ellis decided to take his career in a new direction. From the bounds of his home he co-founded an animal sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia.

In 2021 the Dirty Three virtuoso and Nick Cave collaborator was introduced to the veteran animal rights activist Femke den Haas. Together they established the centre for old, disabled and displaced animals who couldn’t be released into the wild.

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