Our mission
Why the Foundation exists
Animalis aRK exists so that no animal - wild or domestic - goes without care, identity or a voice, and so that the data describing their health belongs to the commons rather than to any single company or government.
We work on the principle that conservation fails when its evidence is fragmented, proprietary or unverifiable. The Foundation's role is to build and hold the shared layer: durable animal identity, trustworthy biotelemetry, and open research outputs that any nation, researcher or community can audit and use.
What we do
Program areas
Wildlife conservation and welfare
Direct support for wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and habitat protection, delivered through partner organisations and community custodians rather than administered from the centre.
Animal identity and biotelemetry
The Animalis-IC program: a durable identity and health-sensing record for an individual animal, so that a rescued, lost or monitored animal can be reunited, treated and understood over its whole life. In development.
Conservation sensor network
A distributed network of community-hosted sensing nodes and hubs feeding ecosystem and wildlife data into an open record. Sites and partnerships are being established; the network is not yet at full deployment.
SharkFree - non-lethal shark mitigation
Research into non-lethal alternatives to shark nets and drumlines, and the ocean-sensing buoys that carry them. Efficacy is the subject of honest trials; we publish results whether or not they favour the technology.
Open research and data
Research outputs are published to an independent, immutable participation ledger accessible to all nations, researchers and communities - not held behind a paywall or a licence.
Indigenous custodianship
Work on Country is conducted with Traditional Custodians under Free, Prior and Informed Consent, with knowledge held by the community that holds it - never appropriated by the Foundation.
A global hub and spoke network
One anchor entity, independent hubs, full data sovereignty for participating communities
Animalis aRK Foundation Ltd (Australia) is the anchor entity. Each regional hub operates under its own independent governance. No related entity holds governance rights, financial claims or ownership over the Australian foundation, and all cross-entity funding runs through formal grant agreements.
| Hub | Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Oceania Australia - primary | Wildlife hospital and clinical research partnerships | Anchor entity in formation |
| LATAM Peru | Amazonian and Andean biodiversity monitoring; indigenous knowledge protection | Entity in formation |
| Africa Nairobi, Kenya | Continental mandate; elephant, wild dog, Grevy's zebra, cheetah, dugong | Entity in formation |
| North America USA / Canada | University and wildlife hospital research links | Entity in formation |
Every entity listed is separately incorporated in its own jurisdiction and is shown at its true status. Where an entity is "in formation" it is not yet registered, and we say so.
Governance
How the Foundation is controlled, and how conflicts are handled
No director fees
The constitution prohibits director fees. Any separate employment arrangement follows the ACNC governance standards and is disclosed.
Governance firebreak
Directors with an interest in a related party do not vote on that matter. Conflicts are recorded in a standing conflict registry rather than resolved case by case.
Indigenous Treasury Fund Council
A joint Indigenous body with Winay Laef Foundation administers the Traditional Custodians Treasury and holds veto rights over work affecting traditional knowledge. Invitations issued; the Council is not yet formed.
Community data sovereignty
Communities that host sensing sites or contribute data retain sovereignty over it. The Foundation is a custodian of the shared record, not its owner.
The AARK token
Infrastructure for data exchange - controlled by the Foundation
AARK is the means of exchange for the Foundation's realtime data network. Where a sensor reading, a veterinary record or a wildlife telemetry stream is contributed, accessed or settled between participants, AARK is the unit that meters that exchange. Its purpose is operational, and it extends to the other uses the network requires as it grows.
AARK is controlled by the Foundation. It is not a share, not a revenue entitlement, and not an investment. It confers no claim on Foundation assets or income.
Not offered for sale. AARK remains inert until the Foundation is authorised to operate it, and the operating jurisdiction is still being determined. There is no public sale, no listing, and no staking or reward program open on this site. Nothing on this page is financial product advice or an offer of a financial product.
Support the Foundation
How giving will work, and what we commit to before it opens
Public donations are not open yet. When they open, every donation will be routed to the treasury of a specific cause rather than into a general pool, and the spending of that treasury will be itemised and publicly traceable back to the donation that funded it.
- Each cause holds its own treasury - donations are never blended across causes.
- Spending is itemised, published, and attributable to the cause it was given for.
- Treasury control is multi-signature, not held by any single individual.
- Independent verification, not self-certification.