More than 100,000 have signed World Animal Protection US’s petition to #EndWildlifeTrade, joining nearly half a million supporters globally.
In March, the world was in turmoil as the COVID-19 pandemic was rapidly spreading with the US being one of the hardest hit countries. The virus is said to have originated from a wet market in Wuhan, China, but the pandemic is the result of a much bigger system that allows and encourages wild animals to be treated as commodities for the sake of profit. As the coronavirus swept the world, World Animal Protection focused strategies to ending the global wildlife trade—to keep animals wild and us safe.
Last week, World Animal Protection’s US office hit a milestone: more than 100,000 have signed our petition to ban the global trade of wild animals. They join over 430,000 signers from other countries, bringing the petition’s global total to more than 530,000.
What is the global wildlife trade?
Every day, thousands of wild animals are poached or farmed and sold into the (legal and illegal) global multibillion-dollar wildlife trade – for food, for pets, for traditional medicine, and for entertainment. The horrific conditions they face are causing much suffering for the animals involved.
Exotic pets are often taken from the wild or intensively captive-bred in conditions that risk their psychological and physical wellbeing. Animals such as elephants, tigers, whales, and dolphins suffer at venues across the world in the name of entertainment.
Despite CITES regulation barring or restricting the commercial trade of some species, animals such as rhinos, elephants, and tigers are being poached for use in traditional medicine at an alarming rate. Many species have been pushed to the brink of extinction, including pangolins - the most traded and trafficked mammal in the world.
Help us get to 500,000 US signatures to #EndWildlifeTrade.
If you haven’t already, please sign our petition to ban the global trade of wild animals.
Once you’ve signed the petition, share the petition on social media using the hashtag #EndWildlifeTrade and get 4 of your friends to sign it. This will help us reach our goal of 500,000 Americans demanding an end to the cruel wildlife trade (and 1,000,000 signatures globally).
Support our work to end the global wildlife trade.
The global wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar industry and we need your help to fight back. Join The Wild Side today and ensure we can continue fighting for animals everywhere they need us.
The pandemic is the result of a much bigger system that allows and encourages wild animals to be treated as commodities for the sake of profit.