Europe Archives - Animal Survival International

These lions are safe from war – but now, they need water

When lion cubs Zorya and Mira dragged their tiny, broken bodies through the wreckage of war on the Ukraine frontline, it seemed almost impossible that these terrified, severely injured infants would ever find safety. We helped care for them for over a year in a temporary Ukrainian shelter – and recently, our supporters helped us get them to safety in South Africa. Now they need your help to not just survive, but to thrive. Credit: WARC No-one knows how the infant cubs, both with their back legs broken, ended up frightened and alone on the frontlines of the Ukraine war. We do know they were just two of many victims of animal abandonment. Thanks to the generosity of animal-lovers like you and the help of our partners, Wild Animal Rescue Center (WARC) in Ukraine and the LionWatch Project in South Africa, we achieved something truly extraordinary for the lions: financing medical care to heal their wounds and, recently, evacuating them from the war zone. While their escape was the crucial first step, it’s only the beginning of what they need to truly thrive. From a Ukrainian zoo to the turmoil of war, Cleopatra, Mira and Zorya are now adjusting to their new lives on African soil. Credit: WARC (Left) and ASI/Luke Kruyt (Right) Safety is the bare minimum. It doesn’t mean their needs are over. Far from it. The lions are safe now, but Zorya and Mira have one vital need and are counting on your support: they need water, as their new home is in an area where temperatures reach around 104°F (40°C), and the rainy season has passed. With your help, we will install an energy-efficient, self-sustaining water system in their sanctuary area – particularly necessary as South Africa enters its sweltering summer season. This system will automatically refill the waterhole whenever necessary. It will be a huge benefit for Zorya and Mira. Credit: WARC (Left) and ASI/Luke Kruyt (Right) Together, we can create the oasis they deserve in Africa. Today, Zorya and Mira no longer hear bombs falling. They feel the sun on their backs, the earth beneath their paws, and the safety of a home they can finally call their own, but they do need a reliable source of water. If we can raise $8,000 (£6,100), we can keep the lions hydrated and healthy through the harsh summer, and beyond. It will ensure the lions always have access to clean, fresh water as summer temperatures soar to 104°F (40°C). Every contribution, large or small, will make a tangible difference to their lives.

Here is why for the first time in their lives, 11 captive wild cats are free from human cruelty

When authorities raided a so-called ‘conservation center’ in the UK, they discovered a truly shocking scene: lions, lynxes and other wild cats were being kept in horrific conditions, malnourished, neglected and yet still forced to perform for paying visitors. Our partner, WildSide Exotic Rescue, saved 11 of the cats from being euthanized, and supporters like you helped us give them the food and care they needed to heal and recover. 11 big cats rescued from bitterly cruel conditions have a chance at peace – with your help. Credit: WildSide Exotic Rescue WildSide originally promised to take in four cats, because that was all they had space for. But with the looming threat of the animals being euthanized, they rescued seven more – a total of 11 abused and miserable wild animals with a huge need for care. Without WildSide, these animals would in all probability be dead. Instead, they have a chance of a stress-free life, but right now, they are confined to temporary enclosures. With 11 additional big cats to feed and care for, our partner simply cannot afford to construct new, spacious areas for their newest residents. But with your help, we know we can raise the funds to give these majestic animals the forever homes they deserve. 11 lions, lynxes and bobcats were saved from death – now, Friend, they need somewhere to live. This is the facility where the 11 big cats, and many other animals, were kept in cruel and abusive conditions. Credit: Hertfordshire Zoo (Left) and ITV News Anglia (Right) After the cruelty they endured, most of the cats are terrified of humans. WildSide does not allow visitors and no unnecessary human presence is allowed. Even when our team visited the sanctuary recently, we required special permission to see the rescued cats. It means the animals can begin to recover in quiet seclusion, far from human exploitation and stress. This is what makes a true sanctuary so special – it exists entirely for the animals, not for people. The cats were spared death – but our mission isn’t complete. They need more space to heal physically and emotionally. Vets provide immediate on-site treatment to the worst-affected animals during their rescue. Credit: WildSide Exotic Rescue Every donation will help create larger enclosures designed not for visitors’ entertainment, but for the animals themselves, with cleverly designed tunnels to give them even more freedom of movement and provide stimulation to enrich their lives. The cats will then have true sanctuaries – quiet, secluded and safe – where they can finally live without fear, intrusion, or the constant stress of human presence. After everything they’ve suffered, they deserve nothing less. Please donate today.

Lions rescued from the Ukraine war have ONE CHANCE to get to safety.

Right now, preparations are underway to evacuate three terrified lions from the war in Ukraine to a safe sanctuary in South Africa. After months of careful planning, we are finally ready to fly the animals – a lioness and two cubs rescued from the war – to safety in South Africa. Securing the relocation of these battle-scarred animals during a horrific war has been a very slow and complex process. Now, as bombs explode right outside their temporary shelter in Ukraine, we are racing to get the lions out before the worst happens. Rescued from the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, a lioness and two cubs have ONE CHANCE to escape the violence. WARC is a temporary shelter for big cats rescued in war-torn Ukraine, but lions can’t stay there forever. With your help, we will relocate Cleopatra, Zorya and Mira to the safety of a sanctuary in South Africa. Credit: WARC These animals have been through hell. Cleopatra the lioness was rescued from a private zoo in Ukraine after it ran out of funds during the war. Without our partner, the Wild Animal Rescue Center (WARC), she likely would have been left to fend for herself amidst the violence – and that’s exactly what happened to the two tiny lion cubs, Zorya and Mira. These helpless cubs were saved from the frontlines, both suffering from broken back legs and malnutrition. We don’t know where they came from or how they were injured; all we know is that they don’t belong in the Ukrainian war zone. The road to freedom for these three lions has been a long one. Ukraine is a no-fly zone, so it was necessary to plot a careful route on land through the war-torn country. For the safety of the animals and our team, we cannot divulge any further details. Now, with a lifetime of safe sanctuary waiting for them in South Africa, we are finally ready to send them home – and for that, we need your support. Recent missile strikes hit nearby Kyiv, shattering windows at WARC. The shock from the blast killed one vulnerable rescued animal and left others traumatized. Credits: Fox News (left); WARC (right) Missiles are exploding all around the lions’ temporary sanctuary in Kyiv Oblast. We MUST evacuate them FAST! Every day we delay puts the animals at a greater risk – right now, missiles are landing so close to WARC’s sanctuary that its windows have shattered. Tragically, a young rescued deer recently died from the shock of the blasts. As the war creeps closer and closer to WARC’s shelter, time is rapidly running out for the animals! WARC has rescued countless big cats from war-torn Ukraine, but with the war escalating, animals and caregivers are at a greater risk than ever. Please help us get them out – fast. Credit: WARC We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relocate Cleopatra and the cubs to a safe sanctuary in South Africa – please, Friend, help us get them there. We have partnered with an established wildlife rescue center in South Africa, which is conducting the rescue and has pledged to give Cleopatra, Zoyra and Mira a permanent home at its magnificent, species-appropriate sanctuary. The animals’ transport permits have been approved, and plans are in place to evacuate the cats soon. But we need your help to fund their travel. We promised to do everything we could to find a home for Zorya and Mira last year — and now that home is finally within reach. Help us bring them HOME! Please help us transport Cleopatra, Zoyra and Mira to the safety of a sanctuary in South Africa. Credit: WARC Today you have the opportunity to change the course of three lives forever – and possibly even more. This is because Cleopatra will be joining a lonely male lion, Mufasa, who desperately desires a partner. Together, they will form their own small pride. This beautiful story is about to unfold in Africa – and together, we can write its happy ending. Please, donate as much as you possibly can today. Cleopatra, Zoyra and Mira deserve happiness, freedom and safety – and together, that is exactly what we will give them.

Wild animals decimated as GREECE BURNS AGAIN!

Firefighters in Greece continue to battle blazes that “cannot be contained” as the country burns into a fresh week. Fire is devouring vast swathes of the country fuelled by gale-force winds and dry summer conditions. Credit: AngelosTzortzinis_AFP Animals continue to be in danger of burning to death right now. The fire has destroyed 77,000 hectares (190,000 acres) of land and is, as you read this, eating into Mount Parnitha’s crucial green-belt national park. Untold numbers of animals have been killed by the unstoppable flames but our team continues to be on the ground, racing to the aid of those trapped, terrified, and burnt. Please keep supporting our emergency rescue teams! MORE ANIMALS ARE IN PERIL and without your continued support, they stand no chance against unstoppable flames. Credit: Dejan Radic A few weeks ago, you helped us rush aid to trapped, terrified, and injured animals, and today, we are asking you to once again open your hearts to the helpless wildlife of Greece. The raging flames, fueled by gale-force winds, are showing NO signs of abating, and trapped wild animals need your help right now! Please help! MORE blazing wildfires across Greece have sparked mass evacuations – what about the animals? In times of crisis, we are on the ground helping animals in the most desperate of need. At last count, firefighters were battling 99 separate blazes across the country, including in woodlands northwest of Athens, where our partner ANIMA (Wildlife Rehabilitation Association) is working day and night to save animals. Sadly, our worst fears of ongoing fires have become a reality. The need for our immediate help has never been greater. Animals need you NOW. Credit: DespinaTheodosiadou Large-scale evacuations continue around Athens and other parts of Greece, but for the animals, it is not so simple. We already know from the previous wave of devastation that exhausted, dehydrated birds will be falling from the sky. Young, old and slow-moving animals like tortoises stand no chance against the flames. Without our help, they will succumb to fiery death. Heartbreakingly, many wild animals who miraculously survive the flames will succumb to the effects of smoke inhalation. Credit: DespinaTheodosiadou Right now, ANIMA is on the ground helping to evacuate and treat any animals they find alive. Once they have permission from fire services and local authorities, they will enter disaster zones and carry out their critical rescue and evacuation missions. They are rescuing not only wild animals but any injured, displaced or trapped animals they can – domestic animals, livestock and wild. As you read this, helpless animals are engulfed by flames and burning, and their hopes of survival rest on our ability to send critical rescue support to them now. Credit: Dejan Radic Time is of the essence, and EVERY MOMENT COUNTS! Some of the fires are wildly out of control in places of extreme natural importance, like the national forest of Dadia in Evros (a unique nesting place of two of the most endangered species of vulture) and Parnitha, where red deer and wolves live, and where our rescue teams are focusing their efforts. Please help us URGENTLY raise $10,000 (around £8,000) to equip our rescue teams with fuel for their missions, veterinary supplies, animal transport crates and supplies of food and water. Many animals will need urgent, critical care and long-term rehabilitation for their injuries. They will be traumatized and in need of shelter after the devastating loss of their habitats. They need YOU. Europe’s summer fires have destroyed wooded areas capable of absorbing 2.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. We know the situation for wildlife is only going to get worse, and we URGE you to stay by our side, for the wildlife who need us more than ever. Credit: DespinaTheodosiadou These fires are one of the worst disasters in modern Greek history, and without us, the animals stand almost no chance of survival. Please donate right now so our partner can continue to treat and rescue terrified, traumatized and trapped animals and provide critical treatment to those in pain and on the brink of death. The lives of these animals are in YOUR hands, so please donate as much as you possibly can today.

Animals are suffering in one of the WORST HEAT WAVES ever recorded – burning alive in forest fires, starving to death from lack of food and losing their homes to fire.

Right now, the northern hemisphere is scorching as fires rage through Europe while temperatures in the United States and China soar. Animals are suffering – burning alive in forest fires, starving to death from lack of food, and losing their homes to fire. For decades, governments ignored the scientific evidence that climate change was real and disaster after disaster would befall us. Now it is almost too late – environmental disasters are escalating as greenhouse gases blanket the earth. Food scarcity, drought, flooding, heat waves, wildfires and disease are significant concerns threatening all life on earth. We must act now! Trees and other vegetation remove carbon dioxide from the environment while at the same time creating habitats for wildlife. The science is well established on which trees to plant and where to create woods and forests. We know how to provide forest havens for animals, and we know that trees mitigate climate change. With your help, we can battle climate change by planting trees that absorb carbon dioxide, provide homes for animals and help preserve species. Environmental experts estimate that we need to plant trees on least a billion hectares (almost 3.9 million square miles or 10 million square kilometers) by 2050 to curb global warming and other effects of deforestation. Through collaboration with partners in multiple countries, we aim to plant 500,000 trees by this decade. This will capture approximately 81 million pounds (37 million kilograms) of carbon! We have already identified organizations in South Africa and Kenya to join forces with and make this a reality. It must be done! Scientists say temperatures on multiple continents have reached unprecedented levels as a direct consequence of global warming, with greenhouse gas emissions increasing their intensity, duration and frequency. For the first time in history, Britain recorded its highest ever temperature of 40C (104F). It is so serious that the United Kingdom authorities issued a level 4 alert, the highest level, corresponding to a national emergency. Climate change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, which trap heat inside the planet’s atmosphere. CO2 produced by human activities is the largest contributor to global warming. By 2020, its concentration in the atmosphere had risen to 48% above its pre-industrial level (before 1750). The burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and the increase of livestock farming are just a few examples of human-driven activities that are influencing the climate and destroying natural carbon capture systems, which keep our planet cool. Forests are the planet’s air-conditioning systems and are vital for sustaining life. We must start restoring them and fast! Please, will you help? Roughly 15 billion trees are cut down each year! We must plant as many trees as we can if we are to save animals and the planet. There is no time to waste. Just $8 (£7) is all it takes to plant one tree. Please donate today to help remove carbon dioxide from our planet and save the homes and lives of millions of animals.

Barbarians want to keep snaring helpless animals. Sometimes these animals GNAW OFF THEIR LIMBS!

In the United Kingdom (UK), up to 1.7 million animals are brutally killed by snares every single year… Every 20 seconds, another innocent animal is caught in a snare! There can be no worse death than by a snare. Snares cause untold anguish and pain as snare wires cut deep into their flesh while the helpless animals frantically struggle to free themselves. This torture lasts hours, sometimes days, before the animals either succumb to their injuries, the elements, predation, or are executed by the snare-setter. There are horrific cases of frantic animals gnawing off their own limbs to try and free themselves. In some brutal instances, a snare tightens around the creature’s abdomen, slowly cutting them in half! This must be stopped! This barbaric cruelty is LEGAL in the UK and considered to be HUMANE! The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) not only condones the use of snares, but states that these devices are “an effective and relatively humane form of control”. Even the British Veterinary Association (BVA)’s so-called “Ethics and Welfare Group” supports snaring, particularly when the victims are badgers – a protected species in the UK. When will the UK’s decision-makers wake up and realize that their policies are endorsing the senseless torture and killing of their dwindling wildlife numbers? As of 2020, a quarter of the UK’s native mammals are now at risk of extinction! Snares are usually set to target foxes and rabbits, but as many as 50% of snaring victims are other creatures, including those that are priorities for conservation. Snares are indiscriminate because these wire death traps cannot tell the diﬀerence between a fox, a family pet or a protected species. According to the first Red List of UK mammals, animals such as wildcats, red squirrels and hedgehogs are all under imminent threat. Snares present a serious risk to protected and vulnerable species throughout the UK. This is one of the main reasons snares are banned in many European countries, where they follow the general principle that a device which could accidentally catch and injure any animal which is protected by law, cannot be made lawful. There are simple and effective alternatives to snaring! Clearly, snaring is cruel and inhumane, and there are more effective solutions available to keep livestock and crops safe. For example, fox and rabbit-proof fencing are animal friendly, safe and more effective at protecting livestock and crops. The simple fact is that there is no reasonable argument to support the continued use of these torture devices. We must ACT NOW to have snares completely banned in the UK, and together, we have a real chance to end this horrific practice. Your donation can go a long way in helping us achieve that. Volunteer organization, the National Anti-Snaring Campaign (NASC) in the UK, has an opportunity to bring this to the UK Parliament and potentially secure a total ban on the sale and use of snares. They reached out to the Animal Survival International for support, and we agreed to help. We need your support if we are going to help protect millions of wild animals from pointless torture and death. Please, donate now to support this very important cause. Together, we have a chance to outlaw this horrific practice and secure a victory for the animals.

How we are helping RIGHT NOW: February 2021

The future of animals and the wilderness they live in has never been more at risk. Climate change, habitat destruction and poor enforcement of international wildlife laws is driving species after species to extinction. We cannot be silent or sit idly by and watch this happen. The Animal Survival International (formerly Political Animal Lobby) exists to be a voice for animals and to do everything within its power to ensure animals survive internationally. We are incredibly grateful to our passionate supporters who make the work we do possible. In case you missed it, here’s what ASI is doing right now and how your donations are making a difference to animals across the globe: Life-Giving Water in the Midst of the Worst Drought in 100 Years In South Africa’s Addo Elephant National Park, hundreds of elephants and countless other animals risk dying of thirst because of the worst drought in 100 years. Water holes are drying up and thousands of animals are suffering – not only from thirst but also injury as they fight one another over the last few drops. Our team watched in horror as zebras kicked and bit each other, desperate for their share. Smaller animals like warthogs stood no chance of getting near the rapidly-drying waterholes. To help this dire situation, we have pledged to fund the installation of state-of-the-art solar-powered water pumps to draw more water from the available boreholes. Thanks to your generous donations, we have raised enough to save one waterhole with new equipment and are nearing our goal of saving a second one. Now we are counting the days until the pumps can be installed. Ending the Cruel Trade of Live Frogs from Turkey Millions of frogs are tortured, maimed and killed so they can be served up as a ‘delicacy’ in restaurants. Every day, thousands of Anatolian water frogs are cruelly harvested in Turkey before being sent across Europe. Hunted with hooks and squashed into bags by the hundreds, these helpless frogs are transported alive. Many die along the way. Those who don’t are often served up alive! Not only is this an example of shocking cruelty, but if we don’t act now, Turkey’s Anatolian frogs will be gone forever, and environmental disaster could ensue. We have pledged to help stop this carnage through the only available avenue – presenting compelling evidence to the authorities. By supporting scientists at Ege University in Turkey in conducting vital research, we will be able to demonstrate the true enormity of the plight of the frogs to the Turkish government and hopefully end this trade forever. A Second Chance for Persecuted and Poisoned Birds of Prey Birds of prey are severely threatened across Africa. Habitat loss, poisoning, local superstitions and climate change are pushing hundreds of raptor species to extinction. The Owl Orphanage in St. Helena Bay, South Africa has made it their mission to rescue and rehabilitate as many poisoned and injured birds as possible. The Owl Orphanage is inundated with birds in desperate need of help. Sometimes they rescue five a day, but they simply do not have enough space to home them all while they recover. Your generous donations helped expand their aviary, meaning that more birds of prey will now get a second chance. Celebrating World Pangolin Day – but for How Much Longer? This month we celebrated the 10th annual World Pangolin Day. On this day we were again reminded of the horrific plight of pangolins, both across Africa and the Far East. As the most trafficked mammal in the world, pangolins are hurtling towards extinction; an estimated 200,000 pangolins are killed every year! Smuggled across borders to Asia, pangolins are hacked to death to be used in traditional Chinese “medicine” or eaten as a delicacy. If we don’t put an end to the rampant slaughter of these quiet, solitary creatures, very soon we won’t be celebrating World Pangolin Day anymore because there won’t be any left. ASI is committed to spreading awareness and offering support wherever needed to help prevent such impending disasters. Thank you for standing with us in this fight. Once again, thank you for your generous donations and your support in raising awareness of these issues. You make it possible for us to make a difference, supporting wildlife across the globe.

EATEN TO EXTINCTION! Millions of frogs are being tortured, maimed and killed – for the dinner table!

As we’ve told you before, MILLIONS of frogs are being tortured, maimed and killed so they can be served up as a ‘delicacy’ in restaurants. Turkey’s Anatolian water frogs are cruelly harvested by the thousands every day before being sent to a fate of even more horrifying cruelty. The Anatolian water frog can’t survive this carnage. Scientific evidence shows they could be extinct in little more than a decade. ASI has pledged to help scientific researchers at Ege University in Turkey to conduct studies to help end this unsustainable carnage. Your donation will help. It’s only with the support of clear-thinking people like you that we can save these creatures. Frogs may not be glamorous creatures, but they have a right to share this world with us – it’s theirs as much as it is ours. The methods of capture and killing are shockingly cruel. Hunted at night by men using hooks and nets, water frogs are captured thousands at a time, squashed into bags and transported alive across Europe. Many die along the way. France, Italy and Switzerland are the biggest markets, but the trade is worldwide. Once the frogs arrive at their destination, their necks are slashed, insides removed and they are cut in two. Their legs are severed, and their torsos discarded. They are often SERVED ALIVE! A video of a chef preparing frogs legs at a restaurant in Tokyo shows the creature trying to claw its way off the plate after being dismembered. IT WAS MOVING ITS LEGS AND BLINKING AT THE CAMERA! Turkey exports 36 million frogs each year. If we don’t act now, Anatolian frogs will be gone – another species wiped from the face of the earth. We can’t let this happen. Water frogs play a vital role in natural ecosystems; saving them is not just the right thing to do, it is in mankind’s best interests to do so. Your donation will help fund scientists’ vital research absolutely necessary to show the Turkish government why this must change, and the international community must stop eating frogs. Do the frogs suffer? Of course, they do! They have a nervous system and pain receptors, so they feel pain and suffer immensely before a horrible death, for a diner’s fleeting taste experience. Your donation will help increase scientific knowledge that is vitally important when presenting information to the authorities that will help them understand just what is at stake. We must act now, and with your help we will. It’s desperately worrying that the situation has got so bad and nothing is being done to help. Please help change that. Donate what you can, large or small (every gift helps!) today.

It is not too late to SAVE ANIMALS FROM EXTINCTION! But we URGENTLY need your help now!

The harsh news we bring you is that extinction for many animals is not around the corner… … it’s now. According to the United Nations, 6,523 species are critically endangered and headed for extinction as we approach 2021. That’s why we at ASI will do everything in our power to fight harder for animals in the New Year. And why we need your help before 2020 is over to make sure we have the resources to continue our vital work. In 2020, we fought for animals, with projects around the world to fight back against climate change, rapacious greed, cruelty and contemptuously poor law enforcement. Animals are being WIPED OUT all over the world! Polar bears have become the victims of climate change and the disastrous onslaught of those who only care about the oil and gas in their “Arctic Refuge”. The once teeming herds of African wildlife risk becoming petting zoo curiosities. Species after species are grabbed for the cooking pot or for phony Asian potions, in their millions. Rhinos, frogs, giraffes, gorillas, orangutans, parrots… vultures, badgers, pangolins, sharks, turtles, and more… The list just keeps getting longer… and sadder… We fight daily on multiple fronts (some of this year’s accomplishments are noted below), but the need to prevent animal extinction is DESPERATE and URGENT. But there’s SO much to do and all we do depends on the support of friends like you. A good example is that the South African government proposes new laws that rank wild animals alongside domestic animals as suitable for human consumption and plans to encourage South Africans to eat more wild animals. We and other NGO’s managed to get lions excluded from the new rules. However, other wild animals will be badly affected. The pangolin is the most trafficked animal in the world. Thousands of pangolins are captured for their scales which are scraped from their bodies while the animal is still alive, to be used in phony Asian cosmetic potions. In Asia, an estimated 200,000 pangolins are killed each year, mostly for the Chinese trade. We are working with a secretly located pangolin rehabilitation center in South Africa and Pangolin(Dot)Africa, to rescue and rehabilitate sick and injured pangolins rescued from poachers. We have also provided funding for vital satellite tracking devices to monitor pangolins released back into the wild. More than 11,000 people signed our petition asking the major veterinary association in the UK, the British Veterinary Association (BVA), to change its policy of supporting the badger cull. Anatolian water frogs are being wiped out because they are the largest edible frog in Turkey, and demand for their legs as ‘delicacies’ is strong in parts of Europe. 17-million Anatolian water frogs are captured for the dinner table each year. Very little research has been conducted to determine how much longer the species has before extinction. We are working with the Department of Biology at Ege University in Izmir to find out. We are working with the Painted Dogs Conservation (PDC) in Zimbabwe, funding its program to dart and rescue snared painted dogs. There are only 200 in the area around Hwange, where they work, and 3,000 snares laid by hungry local people. African Grey parrots are being wiped out because of the international, and now illegal, pet trade. We are financing the construction of a free-flight aviary at Birds of Eden in South Africa. Because of poisoning and habitat destruction, vultures are increasingly endangered. In 2020, we financed an aerial survey of vultures in the Kruger National Park and are hoping to raise funds for the construction of a specially designed vulture rescue vehicle to use in cases of poisoning. We are fighting for the very survival of so many animals… But we promise to do more in 2021, and your end-of year-donations will make sure we do not let the animals down – so we can work to preserve animals anywhere in the world where they need us. The doomsday clock is ticking ever closer towards extinction for countless creatures, but with your help, we will fight for the survival of every animal we can. Please help the animals which can’t help themselves by donating generously to ASI today.

Wildlife trade HORROR! We must stop those who put a price tag on priceless species!

Over the past few weeks we have told you about creatures that don’t usually get any public attention, but all are vitally important to our planet. They are all currently being exterminated in a variety of horrific, cruel ways. Without your help, they will soon vanish from this world entirely. Sophisticated criminal networks are driving wildlife to extinction, but governments must start taking responsibility too. The tragic plight of wild animals, viewed simply as pawns for profit, CANNOT BE IGNORED! It’s OUR move now! Checkmating governments and lobbying the opponent is the only way to win this fight. The wildlife trade is fuelled by gluttony and greed, and riddled with gaping loopholes exploited at every twist and turn. If we don’t act now, many unheralded but vitally important creatures will be GONE FOREVER! Most people already know that elephants and tigers are endangered, but many are not aware that frogs, pangolins and pythons are being wiped out at breath-taking speeds with possibly catastrophic consequences to our planet. In Europe and the United States, an exploding exotic pet trade sees glass frogs plucked from tropical rainforests and stuffed into tiny glass containers, destined for the pet trade. The cruelty inflicted on frogs when they are barbarically slaughtered for the sick thrill of diners, or their use in cosmetics, is blatant, abhorrent, and dangerous. Frogs play a vital role in the food chain, as both predators and prey. Their diet includes mosquitoes, lowering the transmission risk of killer diseases including Dengue fever, malaria, West Nile fever, and Zika. Most people don’t even know what a pangolin is – nor that this shy, nocturnal creature is the most trafficked and hunted animal in the world. More than one million pangolins have been poached or trafficked in the past decade alone! All eight pangolin species are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being threatened or vulnerable, and two are critically endangered. It’s only a matter of time before all the pangolins have gone. Pangolins are being killed in a variety of cruel ways and then cooked, sometimes while they are still alive. To make it worse, pangolins are incubators for zoonotic diseases including the deadly COVID pandemic! Beautiful Royal pythons are being chopped up for bushmeat, medicines, and their skins. There is a very large market for them in the pet trade. They are sold and stuck in glass tanks for the rest of their days. Would you call this a life? This global trade is a ticking time bomb for humans too. There is absolutely no regard, nor compassion, for the innocent lives destroyed along every chain of the wildlife trade. The world has a chance to make things right. Why aren’t the authorities paying attention? Because frogs don’t vote. Pangolins don’t vote. Pythons don’t vote. We must be the voice for these and other defenceless creatures who, without us, will suffer endless cruelty until there are none left to torture. Please donate today so that can fight on behalf of some of the most defenceless creatures in the world. We need to act now! The wildlife trade must stop. Existing laws are not being enforced. Please help us put pressure on politicians and law enforcement agencies to do their job. With your support, we will keep piling on the pressure until governments crack and ban the barbaric international trade in wild creatures once and for all.

MASS TORTURE!

Right now, as you read this, billions of frogs across the world are being tortured, maimed, and killed. Stolen from the wild, they die in pain. It is estimated that in Asia alone, between 180 million and a billion frogs are currently stolen each year for use in traditional ‘medicine’. In Laos, tiny rice paddy frogs are dipped into boiling oil and fried alive on sticks. Or they are put into blenders and liquidized before being added to curries and stews, boiled in soups or barbecued on an open flame. In Vietnam and Japan, live bullfrogs are served to diners, filleted while their hearts are still beating. In China, Asiatic grass frogs – a protected species – are butchered for use in traditional ‘medicine’ (hasma is made with the fallopian tubes of dried-up female frogs and is supposed to help consumers “look younger”). Video footage from Cambodia shows frogs kicking and squirming in pain as their snouts and rear legs are cut off with scissors. Still alive, they are thrown in a pile of other maimed frogs and left to endure a slow death. These frogs are not only massacred for their legs, they are also turned into trinkets and curios for the tourist industry. In Europe and the United States, an exploding exotic pet trade sees glass frogs plucked from tropical rainforests and stuffed into tiny glass containers, destined for the pet trade. Many frogs die before reaching their destination and those that don’t die later perish from the long-term effects of capture and transport. Across the world, aquatic African clawed frogs, semiterrestrial bullfrogs, and terrestrial toads are still used in classroom dissections and teaching exercises in a harrowing process known as “pithing”. Pithing leaves the frogs defenceless while students cut them open, apply drugs to their beating hearts, and attach electrodes to their exposed leg muscles after peeling off their skin. The cruelty being inflicted on frogs for cosmetics or when they are barbarically killed for a sick frill for diners is so blatant, so abhorrent and so dangerous that governments must act now. Your donation will help us make them pay attention. The havoc with nature caused by this trade has potentially irreversible negative consequences for the entire planet. Frogs play a vital role in the food chain, as both predators and prey. As tadpoles, frogs eat algae, reducing the chances of algal contamination and they, in turn, are an important source of food for birds, fish, monkeys and snakes. Their diet includes mosquitoes, lowering the transmission risk of killer diseases including Dengue fever, malaria, West Nile fever and Zika. Right now, frogs are racing headlong to extinction, but if we act fast to stop the international trade, we will give the frogs a better chance of survival and save billions of creatures from merciless cruelty. Every single animal life is important. Please support us in our efforts.

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