Alan Beaufort Fraser, founder and chairman of Mountains Animal Sanctuary in Angus, has died peacefully, aged 80, at his Milton of Ogil home near Forfar.
Mr Fraser will be remembered for his love and devotion to animals and, after moving it from his native Kent to the foothills of the Angus glens in the early 1990s, has watched the sanctuary grow to become the largest in Scotland, with around 150 rescued equine residents in its care.
A successful racing driver in his youth, he was remarkably modest about his motorsport achievements, both behind the wheel and in developing the Fraser Imps, a competition derivative of Hillman’s rear-engined car of the 1950s and 1960s that challenged the Mini Cooper on the track and rally stages.
It was through his successful career, and at the age of 32, that his great love for animals developed.
While travelling abroad he noticed on many occasions the unkindness and cruelty suffered by animals and, on returning to his home in Kent, was shocked to find there was an appalling amount of negligence, cruelty and wickedness towards some animals in this country.
He decided to make it his life-long mission to help end the suffering of animals and began-with the help of his mother with the rescue of four neglected ponies.
Having established the Mountains Animal Sanctuary, and following his mother’s death, he moved the centre to Milton of Ogil in 1991, where he had the space to pursue his project.
Mr Fraser is survived by two elder sisters, Jean Thomson and Moira Hall.