Our blog & news: Get involved to help wildlife

 
 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." 
Margaret Mead, American anthropologist, 1901-1978
 


Search Take Action for Wildlife Conservation
 


 RSS Feed

» Listings for 2017

  1. Donkey therapy works ... in Sri Lanka, Romania, the UK....

    Posted on

    There's some amazing work being done by animals all over the world to help people.

    A fantastic example is that of donkeys.   The Donkey Sanctuary donkeys are at work in the UK, Sri Lanka and in Italy helping children through donkey therapy.

    In the Donkey Sanctuary's newsletter this Spring 2017, we heard about the charity's most recent project.

    At the Mannar Assocication for Rehabilitation of Differnently Abled People (MARDAP) in Sri Lanka, children are benefitting from donkey interaction.

    The Director of MARDAP, Sister Josephine, noted that in the beginning a child called Murika was reluctant to interact with other children.  But with the help of the donkeys, that began to improve.  And Murika has shown a great love for animals.  Her bond with the donkeys has changed her from a nervous child to a happy, confident one, with a smiling face and a child who loves coming to school.  A child with hand co-ordination issues was seen grooming a donkey.  

    The children love to hug the donkeys.  They feed, groom and talk to the donkeys.  It all helps to improve their emotional and physical development.  And adults have benefitted too.

    The donkeys have been helped by Bridging Lanka, a charity which works with the large feral donkey population in Sri Lanka.  

    The project brings together children at MARDAP’s school with donkeys helped by Bridging Lanka, a charity which works with the large feral donkey population in Sri Lanka. 

     

    Bluto, a rescued donkey at the Donkey Sanctuary's Italian centre, sharies many special moments with residents of a nearby care home.  They love spending time with him - and he enjoys his visits to see them.  

    It's wonderful to see the great work so many of these donkeys are doing to help young and old.   Many have been rescued from terrible situations.   There are many ways you can support the Donkey Sanctuary to do their work - find out more here

     

     

  2. Schools help rainforest by fundraising

    Posted on

    It's always wonderful to read about schools helping with fundraising towards wildlife and environmental causes.

    Reading through my copy of the excellent "Rainforest Review 2017" from Rainforest Concern, I was really excited to see a number of schools supporting the charity.  

    Cake sales, farmer's markets, a raffle and rainforest calendars were just a few of the ways in which young people raised funds for this charity. 

    The charity reported on 10 schools who did their bit for Rainforest Concern and raised funds - it would be great to see more schools getting involved.

    One young supporter raised a very impressive £553, which saved 11 acres of rainforest!  And Angharad is only eight years old!  She ran 20 km over 4 weeks.   A big well done to her :-) 

    There some great teacher resources for schools on Rainforest Concern's website which you can find here, and there are even Amazonas Comics for the children too!

    It costs £50 to sponsor one acre of rainforest.  If you sponsor an acre, Rainforest Concern will give you a personalised certificate recording your sponsorship and regular updates on their progress.  Your sponsorship will protect many plants and animals who need rainforest to live in.  Click here for more information.

     

  3. Help snow leopards by giving them your voice

    Posted on

    Snow leopards live high in the mountains of Central Asia.

    There are only about 4,000 of these wonderful big cats left, due to habitat loss, retaliating killings and poaching.  On average, a snow leopard is killed a day by poachers or local communities trying to protect their livestock.  Much of the big cats' home is at risk because of development and exploitation.

    Back in 2013, the leaders from all 12 countries in the snow leopard habitat pledged to secure at least 20 snow leopard landscapes of Asia by 2020.

    And in August 2017, the 12 countries are all meeting for Kyrgyzstan for the International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum. 

    This high-level event aims to do two things, according to the website:

    1. To further strengthen the range countries’ ongoing effort to protect the snow leopard, and
    2. To galvanize international support for their ambitious plan of securing 20 snow leopard landscapes by the year 2020.

    They need to act to save snow leopards before it is too late.  It's vital to secure snow leopard landscapes with the support of local communities, to tackle illegal trade and make sure we build a future in which snow leopards can survive.

    There is a petition, on Care2.com's Petitions website, urging the snow leopard country leaders to pledge concrete action when they meet in August.  

    Sign the petition to pledge these leaders to take concrete action to save snow leopards at their August meeting. 

  4. Wild Horses of Alberta Society....

    Posted on

    So yesterday I was having a canter around the BBC website and having a browse and I came across a video made by the Wild Horses of Alberta Society.

    The Society is "committed to the preservation of these magnificent animals in their natural environment" and they have a number of videos on their You Tube page which I must say I did enjoy.  

    As well as informing the public about the history of these wonderful horses, the Society  is also working with the government to establish reasonable and achievable wild horse population management solutions, and also another objective I particularly like is their work to promote the welfare of wild horses by rescuing, gentling and rehoming of wild horses providing veterinary care.

    They also have a wild horse adoption programme.

    Of course, being a horse lover I had to have a look, and the video was just wonderful!   The wilds of Alberta, the care the people took of these wild horses and the spirit of the horses was just - for me - really moving.  

    Here's one of their videos, A Year with the Wild Horses - do take a look!

     

    The organisation entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the province of Alberta back in November 2014 - a 5 year agreement.  It means WHOAS can run 2 programmes in a large area of the Sundre Equine Zone - 

    1. Firstly, a contraception program for wild horse mares - this should help manage horse populations
    2. Secondly, an adoption program so that WHOAS can rescue wild horses in trouble on private land or that are found abandoned or injured.

    It's always interesting to see how people are working to help animals and I do wish the Society well in its work.

    Click here to visit the Wild Horses of Alberta Society's website

     

     

  5. It's World Ranger Day on 31 July

    Posted on

    The 31st July is a special day in the calendar for wildlife protection.   World Ranger Day  commemorates Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty.  And it celebrates the amazing work Rangers do around the world to protect the natural world. 

    The event is organised by the International Ranger Federation which works to raise awareness of and support the critical work rangers do. Its membership comprises of 63 ranger associations from 46 countries on 6 continents.  It seeks "to empower rangers by supporting their national or state ranger organizations, or assisting in the establishment of local ranger associations in countries where they do not currently exist".  You can find out more about it here

    World Rangers Day gives us all a chance to show our support and appreciation for the amazing men and women who defend wildlife on the front line of conservation.

    For over 30 years, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation has been standing with the world’s rangers every day.  This morning, I received an email to remind me of the way in which rangers work to protect wildlife and how the charity supports them.  I hope they will forgive me for relaying their email to you;  but it does sum up well the different types of work rangers are involved with.   

    Types of wildlife ranger include the following:

    Wildlife Rangers watch over wildlife.  They may care for young orphaned elephants until these wonderful majestic animals can re-join a release herd.  Some keep wildlife safe, often risking their own lives against the poachers.  

    Community Rangers raise awareness amongst local communities to make sure they understand how protecting wildlife can be beneficial; and also helping them live alongside them.  Some rangers have created women’s groups, making and selling crafts, so that locals have an alternative income.

    Intelligence and Investigation Rangers disrupt illegal wildlife trade routes and eliminate poaching hotspots.  They work day and night against the poachers. They are intelligence-led enforcement units, who are putting their lives on the line every day to protect wildlife.

    Veterinary Rangers help advise how best to look after vulnerable animals and give them a second chance at life

     


    DSWF has been busy enabling rangers to remove traps and snares..    .

    About 90% of wildlife caught in snares are simply left to rot.  Snares are just pieces of wire, shaped in a loop and anchored down.   They are cheap and easy to make - and virtually impossible for animals to escape from. As animals struggle to escape, the result is that the wire grows tighter.  Wounds get deeper.  The animal suffers a long, agonising death.

    The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation funds ranger patrols in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda.  Every day, these rangers remove thousands of traps and snares.  Rangers report that as a result, they are now finding just one or two snares and traps whereas before, they would have removed hundreds.   This makes the area much safer for wildlife. 

    The equipment used to make snares and traps are turned to good use for other purposes and crucially the money earned from them is put to fight poachers and make life safer for wildlife. 

    You can help support these brave rangers by giving to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation’s ongoing Appeal.  Your help will enable the charity to train and equip more rangers to patrol these areas and you'll also help destroy the traps and snares found so that wildlife can't get trapped in them. 

    Donate by 12th September 2017, and a kind supporter will match the first £10,000 in donations.  They will do this until the September date or until the £10,000 is reached, whichever happens first.  You can use GiftAid in the UK to your unmatched donation.

    Donate here to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Appeal