Care for the Wild International

Last updated

Care for the Wild International
Founded1982
TypeAnimal welfare organisation
FocusAnimal welfare
Location
Origins National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Bill Jordan (founder), Thelma How (secretary) [1]

Care for the Wild International (CWI) was a British animal welfare organisation that campaigned to protect the welfare of wild animals around the world. [2] [3] Care for the Wild International described its mission as "to stop and prevent the suffering of wild animals of all species" and to "promote investigation into the value of each species in the web of life and particularly the effect that mankind's actions have on wildlife". [1] The CWI was dissolved in 2015 with its funds transferred to the Born Free Foundation. [4]

Contents

History

Care for the Wild International was established as Care for the Wild by Bill Jordan in 1982 from his bookshop in Horsham, West Sussex. It had obtained assets from the National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports. [3] It registered as a charity in 1984. [4] In 1985, Care for the Wild was considered an official wildlife division of the National Society for the Abolition of Cruel Sports. [5] [6] Thelma How was its secretary. [7] Patrick Moore a supporter of Care for the Wild sent out letters in 1985, asking local authorities to ban fox hunting. [7]

As the charity grew, it moved to new premises but was still based in Horsham. It became an international organisation with an annual income of over £700,000, using the money to fund projects and campaigns both in the United Kingdom and overseas. [2]

Mission

The stated aim of Care for the Wild International was to "rescue, protect and defend animals in need around the globe". It helped fund rescue centres and animal sanctuaries caring for abandoned, injured and orphaned wild animals in the United Kingdom and in Africa. It operated an "adoption" scheme under which donors could target their donations towards specific objectives. Protection of wildlife was done through supporting projects such as anti-poaching patrols and campaigns against the use of snares. It aimed to educate people about the importance of their local wildlife and on the way to minimise conflicts between people and animals. Care for the Wild International joined other campaigning organisations taking part in both local actions, such as opposing badger culling, and international actions to limit the trade in endangered species. [8]

Projects and campaigns

The stance of Care for the Wild International on the poaching of elephants was backed by its funding of anti-poaching patrols and an elephant orphanage coupled with a re-release programme. [9] This it does in association with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya which manages an orphanage for motherless elephants and rhinoceroses. [10]

In April 2005, Care for the Wild International joined with the Wildlife Trust of India to confront the 14th Dalai Lama about the trade in tiger skins in Tibet, a campaign that changed attitudes in Tibet on the use of tiger pelts as clothing. [11]

Another campaign has endeavoured to prevent the sale of live turtles as food at Tesco supermarkets in China. [12] Other campaigns have targeted the poaching of rhinoceroses for their horns, [13] and the trade in ivory in the United States which imports large quantities of illegal ivory from poached elephants and which CITES has described as an "ivory trade problem country". [14]

Care for the Wild International joined with the Center for Biological Diversity to produce a report "Extinction: It’s Not Just for Polar Bears" which describes the effects that climate change is having on the Arctic. The report describes the changes taking place in the Arctic and what species are affected. It also provides an action plan for mitigating the problem. [15] Other scientific reports have covered the ivory trade, the Chinese fur industry, the fate of tigers, the evidence supporting badger culling, the impact that hunting bushmeat has on primate populations and the management of elephants in South Africa. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poaching</span> Illegal hunting of wildlife

Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the hunting privileges of nobility and territorial rulers.

The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation, which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect the charity's values.

WildAid is an environmental organization based in San Francisco, California, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Fund for Animal Welfare</span> Non-profit US organization

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world. The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greater protections. Brian Davies founded IFAW. IFAW was instrumental in ending the commercial seal hunt in Canada. In 1983 Europe banned all whitecoat harp seals products. This ban helped save over 1 million seals. IFAW operates in over 40 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Trust of India</span>

The Wildlife Trust of India is an Indian nature conservation organisation under Ministry of Forest Department, Government of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife trade</span> Worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of wildlife

Wildlife trade refers to the products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tissues such as skins, bones or meat, or other products. Legal wildlife trade is regulated by the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which currently has 184 member countries called Parties. Illegal wildlife trade is widespread and constitutes one of the major illegal economic activities, comparable to the traffic of drugs and weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Douglas-Hamilton</span> British zoologist (born 1942)

Iain Douglas-Hamilton is a Scottish zoologist from Oxford University and one of the world's foremost authorities on the African elephant. In 1993, he founded Save the Elephants, which is dedicated to securing a future for elephants and their habitats.

<i>Saving Planet Earth</i> 2007 British TV series or programme

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Alliance</span> US-based non-profit organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife Protection Society of India</span> Indian wildlife protection organisation

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Dave Currey is a British environmentalist, writer and photographer. A minister's son, he was born in Sussex in the UK and brought up in London. He gained a BA in Photographic Arts in 1976 following a passion in communicating visually. In 1976, following another passion, he walked 1,000 miles across Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming to help raise awareness of conservation issues for the World Wildlife Fund. On this journey his photographs, radio and television interviews were his introduction to a world of media co-operation that would steer his next thirty years in environmental activism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife smuggling</span> Illegal gathering, transport and distribution of wild animals

Wildlife smuggling or wildlife trafficking concerns the illegal gathering and trade of endangered species and protected wildlife, including plants and byproducts or products utilizing a species. Research on wildlife smuggling has increased, however, knowledge of the illicit trade remains limited. The differences between international policies and tendencies likely contribute to the extensive estimated range of wildlife smuggling, anywhere from $5-$23 billion, with an additional $67-$193 billion when timber and fish are included. The prolific growth of wildlife smuggling makes it the fourth-largest criminal enterprise globally after drug, firearm, and human trafficking. Products demanded by the trade include but are not limited to ivory, bushmeat, traditional medicine, and exotic pets. China and the United States are the largest buyers in the illegal wildlife trade. It often involves other illegal activities such as tranquilizing animals without proper authorization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivory trade</span> Commercial, often illegal, trade of animal ivory

The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, black and white rhinos, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheldrick Wildlife Trust</span> Kenyan wildlife conservation charity

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Elephant Day</span> Annual event on August 12 dedicated to the preservation and protection of the worlds elephants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destruction of ivory</span> Used to deter the poaching of elephants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Species affected by poaching</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife smuggling in southern Africa</span>

The wildlife trafficking network in southern Africa involves the illicit extraction, transportation and transaction of wildlife within and across the nations of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini. Involvement in the illegal trading network can be divided into three general roles: poachers, traffickers and intermediaries, and consumers. There are a wide range of motives depending on an individual's role in the network. Some motivations include profit, sustenance, and reducing human-wildlife conflict.

References

  1. 1 2 Barker, Michael J. C. (1986). Directory for the Environment: Organisations in Britain and Ireland 1986-7. Routledge. p. 146. ISBN   978-0710209610.
  2. 1 2 "Charity Overview". Charity Commission for England and Wales. 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Timeline of Animal Protection Organizations". Molly Baer Kramer. 2024. Archived from the original on 18 October 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Care for the Wild International Governance". Charity Commission for England and Wales. 2024.
  5. ↑ How, Thelma (12 April 1985). "Search for Records". West Sussex Country Times. p. 10.(subscription required)
  6. ↑ "Protecting the Wild". Walsall Observer. 4 October 1985. p. 5.(subscription required)
  7. 1 2 "Caring for the Wild". Daily Post. 30 October 1985. p. 14.(subscription required)
  8. 1 2 "Care for the Wild International" . Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Mansbridge, Philip (12 August 2013). "Is This Year's World Elephant Day the Last Chance for Elephants?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Rescue and Rehabilitation of Orphaned Elephants and Rhinoceros, Kenya". Care for the Wild International. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  11. ↑ Yeh, Emily T. (2012). "Transnational Environmentalism and Entanglements of Sovereignty: The Tiger Campaign Across the Himalayas". Political Geography. 31 (7): 408–418. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2012.06.003.
  12. ↑ "Outrage as Tesco still sells live turtles". Wildlife Extra. Wild Travel. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Rhino poaching – What can be done. An interview with Mark Jones of Care for the Wild International". Wildlife Extra. Wild Travel. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "USA is one of the world's largest ivory markets". Wildlife Extra. Wild Travel. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "The Arctic Meltdown". Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
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