Dear friends,
The corona pandemic has upended human life in a
million ways, and now it’s about to wreak havoc on
wildlife.
Elephants, rhinos, pangolins, and gorillas:
their survival depends on delicate, shoe-string budgets to
fund their protection -- and
Coronavirus has
butchered that lifeline. An army of 40,000
rangers once protected these incredible animals. Now half
could lose their jobs, leaving wildlife at the mercy of
poachers and criminals.
But there's hope.
Throughout the pandemic, a scrappy team of
undercover investigators has worked around the clock to track
and prosecute bloodthirsty poaching rings in nine African
countries.
They're a poacher's worst
nightmare -- already jailing thousands!
But
now their funding is also on the rocks, and
they need
us more than ever.This is our chance
to be a lifeline for critically exposed and vulnerable
wildlife. If enough of us chip in just the cost of a
coffee, we could help lock up even more criminals, expose
international trafficking networks, and accelerate our global
campaigns to protect nature and save Earth's most vulnerable
species.
Donate what you can now -- let's stop this
poaching pandemic before it begins:
We've
funded these amazing defenders before -- from the group EAGLE
-- because the work they do is truly
priceless. In recent months they infiltrated a
huge illegal trafficking ring, uncovering almost 2 tons (!!)
of pangolin scales, exposing the kingpins and crippling an
international network of criminals. And they even ensure those
jailed don't bribe their way out.
The sheer dedication
and focus of these heroes is breathtaking -- and together with
Avaaz's campaigning magic pushing for stronger protections,
could help save entire species.
If we all chip in now,
together we could:
- Train and sustain dozens of undercover
investigators to crack open some of the world's
most wanted wildlife trafficking networks;
- Scale up the number of anti-poaching
investigations in 9 countries, and arrest hundreds
of wildlife traffickers;
- Expose complicit officials and
politicians who enable the trade;
- Push to prosecute corporate and government
agents who profit from wildlife trafficking;
- Power hard-hitting Avaaz campaigns to
protect the natural world and preserve the delicate web of
life.
These investigations are one of the very last
lines of defence for animals on the edge of existence. Let's
throw the weight of our movement behind them now, and
help stop this poaching pandemic before it begins.
There's no time to lose -- chip in
what you can now:
We're currently facing
what's surely the most severe health crisis of our generation
-- and yet its roots are deeply embedded in our relationship
to the natural world. We now know that the destruction of
nature is a major cause of pandemics, and more importantly,
that what happens to nature ultimately happens to us. So when
we rise to protect life on earth, we aren't doing it as
something separate from nature; we are nature, defending
itself.
With fierce hope and determination --
always,
Mike, Marigona, Bert, Aloys, Spyro, Luis,
Martyna and the whole team at Avaaz
PS - This might be
your first donation to our movement ever. But what a first
donation! Did you know that Avaaz relies entirely on small
donations from members like you? That's why we're fully
independent, nimble and effective. Join the over 1 million
people who've donated to make Avaaz a real force for good in
the world.
More
information:How the Covid-19
pandemic is threatening Africa’s wildlife
(BBC)https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-africa-52564615/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-threatening-africa-s-wildlifeThe
coronavirus threat to wildlife tourism and conservation
(UNDP)https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2020/the-coronavirus-threat-to-wildlife-tourism-and-conservation.html‘Filthy
bloody business:’ Poachers kill more animals as coronavirus
crushes tourism to Africa (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/24/coronavirus-poachers-kill-more-animals-as-tourism-to-africa-plummets.htmlPandemic-induced
poaching surges in Uganda (National Geographic)
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/07/covid19-behind-uganda-poaching/
