Committed to the preservation of all wildlife, Santa Martha Rescue Center is a sanctuary for animals rescued from unhealthy and illegal situations here in Ecuador, South America. Operating since 2001, the center is locally owned by Johnny and Brenda Córdova and is situated on their 65 hectare dairy farm, 1 hour south of Quito, in the picturesque "avenue of volcanoes".

Johnny and Brenda founded the center when they came across 19 terribly mistreated capuchin monkeys up for sale in the street! These beautiful indigenous animals were held in tiny dirty cages with no food or water shivering from the cold, scared and seriously undernourished. Shocked and horrified by this awful sight they decided they had to do something to help these, and other, animals like them. The harsh reality was, however, that no animal welfare organisation or foundation existed for them to contact. Johnny and Brenda took it upon themselves to rescue these monkeys. Consequently Santa Martha Rescue Center was founded on their property and from these humble beginnings has been expanding ever since to accommodate many and varied animals in need of refuge and rehabilitation.

Santa Martha works closely with the national police organisation UPMA to encourage the development and enforcement of legislation in relation to wildlife found in Ecuador. Such as the confiscation of animals kept illegally and the strict punishment of persons found trafficking animals. Unfortunately this practice is still far too common today in Ecuador and South America in general.

Another very important aspect of Santa Martha is that of community awareness. School visits are an important part of our effort to help educate the local community, especially the children. Santa Martha works on the premise that an informed community will be much less tolerant of animal trafficking. Those people who come to understand the needs and intrinsic rights of animals, will be less likely to be complacent about seeing them held in unhealthy conditions.

It has become apparent that the need is far greater than ever imagined, hence over a short period of time, Santa Martha has grown almost overwhelmingly. By attempting to never turn away an animal in need, Santa Martha has become the premier animal rescue center in Ecuador and unfortunately Johnny and Brenda have found they are increasingly sought after to rescue more and more animals. As a result Santa Martha is continually operating at its limits and it is only with the enthusiastic work of so many amazing volunteers that Santa Martha has been able to help as many animals as it has today.

It is because of this extraordinary growth, that the need for our own animal release center has become ever apparent. Continually faced with the dilemma of where to relocate our animals, after their initial rehabilitation at Santa Martha, we were, sadly, often found wanting.

Despite its incredible growth Santa Martha is solely based on love and respect of the animal kingdom. It is an NGO (non government organisation), which means it is completely reliant on its volunteers and other donations to keep running. Despite working closely with the government, the police, and other orgainsations, we receive no funding from them.

Importantly for the animals Santa Martha is not a zoo. We are here to help rehabilitate the animals and this means interfering with them as little as possible. However, it is occasionally possible for people with an interest to visit the center and see for themselves the fantastic work that is being done here. Because we do not receive outside financial support we would ask for donations of $10 per person while any additional donations would be much appreciated. If you are interested it is important to please call, or email, in advance to see if we can arrange a suitable day for a tour.