Jaguar North America Announces Conservation Trust to Protect Namesake

NEW YORK, April 15 -- Jaguar North America announces the formation of the Jaguar Conservation Trust -- a new campaign to assist in the effort of preserving the company's namesake. The Jaguar Conservation Trust will provide grants and funding for projects that promote the preservation of the jaguar and its habitat.

Stefanie Powers, actress and conservationist, will lead the development of the Jaguar Conservation Trust and act as advisor to Jaguar on conservation matters. She will aid in the creation of a full-spectrum conservation program. Among other achievements in animal protection and conservation, Powers is the co-founder of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, serves on the advisory board of three North American zoos and is a Fellow of the Los Angeles Zoo.

"Jaguar is possibly the only major corporation that has dedicated itself to the preservation of the very species from which it derives its name," comments Powers. "I am very pleased to be associated with Jaguar as they build a program that will have a far reaching effect not only on jaguar preservation, but the habitat in which this remarkable animal lives."

Jaguar started its support of jaguar-related conservation in the mid 1980's through an initiative by Jaguar Canada that expanded the world's only jaguar sanctuary 30-fold and safeguarded nearly 100,000 acres of tropical forest in Belize. Since then, Jaguar headquarters in the UK has donated $3 million for the construction of a state-of-the-art rainforest exhibit and breeding environment at the world-renowned Chester Zoo in the UK. In the US, Jaguar has committed $1 million to the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo, which helps to fund research, and species protection programs for jaguars in the wild.

"Through a number of different projects and sponsorships in the past, we have built up an association with jaguar preservation," comments Richard Beattie, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Jaguar Land Rover North America. "It is now time to take our conservation efforts to the next level and ensure that the future of our namesake is protected."

Jaguar Cars was founded in 1921 and originally named the Swallow Sidecar Company. It was not until 1935 when the Jaguar name was first used on a production car and not until 1947 that the company became "Jaguar Cars Ltd." The late Sir William Lyons, founder of the company, chose the name "Jaguar" as it signified feline grace and elegance, combining docility with remarkable power and agility.

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