Exotic cars, exotic pets mix at Richmond fundraiser for fire-damaged non-profit

A special fundraiser was held in Richmond on Saturday to benefit a local exotic pet rescue facility.

More than 60 animals died at Urban Safari in Surrey late last month when an electrical surge caused a fire in the organization's front room, which housed mainly reptiles and small mammals.

Hundreds of other exotic animals survived the incident, however, and many of them were on display alongside exotic attractions of a different type Saturday.

The "Reptiles and Racecars" event was organized by Streetlight Productions, whose employee Aaron Lucier had a summer job with Urban Safari earlier in his career.

He told CTV News Saturday's event combined two of his passions: cars and reptiles.

"(Urban Safari has) always been a big part of my life, and I've always loved reptiles since I was a young kid," Lucier said.

Dozens of sports cars joined the Urban Safari residents for an event Lucier said he hoped would entice those interested in each participant to check out the other – and bring in much-needed donations for Urban Safari's rebuilding efforts.

"We really just wanted to help out and do as much as we could to help them," Lucier said. "So, with our reach in the car community, we thought it would be nice to organize an event where we had a car show and then, as well, just kind of entice people to go see the animals."

Lucky Sabharwal, an animal care specialist for Urban Safari, said the non-profit is thankful for Streetlight Productions' help.

"It was very devastating," Sabharwal said of the fire, noting that money raised would help replace tanks and cages, fixtures and lighting.

"Anything that we lost in the room, we are going to need to rebuild," she said.