2020 represents ten years of Saffire Freycinet, and the hotel is celebrating raising over $125,000 together with guests for Tasmanian devil research. Saffire is a major sponsor of Wildcare’s Devil Fund, which helps fund conservation research vet Ruth Pye, part time at the Menzies Institute of Medical Research in Hobart, to specialise in Tasmanian devil research.

Over the last five years, the fund has supported the development of a vaccine to immunise devils against the deadly devil facial tumour disease, which nearly caused the extinction of Tasmanian devils in 2014. The funding has also maintained a captive breeding program in Hobart, the reintroduction of over 100 healthy devils into the wild, field research and sampling, and the international publishing of immunology research. Saffire houses the retired breeding devils from this program in a free-range enclosure on-site to educate guests through a guided tour and daily feeding. Guests have the opportunity to adopt-a-devil during their stay, receiving quarterly updates on the devil’s health and advances in the research conducted by Ruth Pye to ensure their ongoing survival.

Together with Wildcare, Saffire Freycinet hopes this year the fund can also explore the implementation of virtual fencing in the Freycinet area, a new technology being trialled in Tasmania which actively alerts animals before crossing the road as cars approach, causing a significant reduction in roadkill.

Saffire’s strong ethos of protecting biodiversity through conservation is also reflected in a recent pledge in response to January’s bushfire crisis on mainland Australia. Saffire Freycinet pledged $500 from each of the next one hundred bookings towards Kangaroo Island’s habitat recovery program, being a similar island community who also thrives on tourism, wildlife and natural wilderness. Saffire will donate 100% of the $50,000 raised to Nature Foundation SA/s Wildlife Recovery Fund: https://www.naturefoundation.org.au/support-us/wildlife-recovery-fund to support animals such as the glossy black cockatoo, the remaining healthy koala population, and the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart. 

For further business with purpose initiatives at Saffire, visit.