Your commitment to animals had an enormous impact in 2020! Because of you, the movement to protect wildlife around the world is gaining momentum. That is why we want to honor the victories that you made possible this year!
We cannot do this important work without your support. Please make a donation to celebrate these victories and start Born Free USA off strong in the coming year!
DONATION MATCH ALERT!
A generous donor has decided to MATCH all donations up to $10,000 made to Born Free USA through the end of the year, so please make a donation now to double your impact and start us off strong in 2021!
Wildlife Trade
Strengthened Wildlife Law Enforcement via Virtual Workshops
Due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, we had to reorganize our planned workshops for 2020 and go online. We held our first online workshop in September thanks to the enthusiasm and efficiency of local authorities in West Africa. Judges, prosecutors, and wildlife authorities from Ghana and Nigeria gathered in large hotel rooms, while our international team delivered the training remotely in close collaboration with the local authorities. The success of this remote training paved the way for future virtual efforts.
Launched Innovative Tools to Fight Illegal Wildlife Trade
In October, we launched WildScan, a user-friendly mobile phone app developed to support officers on the front lines of combatting the illegal wildlife trade. We created the app in partnership with Freeland with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Designed as a tool for customs and border patrol officers, the app provides photos and vital information about more than 500 protected species and tips on how to identify the animals. WildScan also details local animal protection laws and allows the user to report a suspected wildlife crime with the push of a button.
Empowered Airport Staff to Stop Wildlife Traffickers
We developed training and educational materials on wildlife law enforcement for airport staff. These tools will be used in trainings delivered by local trainers and will equip airport personnel with the knowledge they need to recognize the signs of wildlife trafficking. This will allow staff to make the quick and accurate decisions necessary when stopping traffickers from smuggling animals and their parts across borders.
Stood Up for Pangolins
In January, we filed a lawsuit to gain Endangered Species Act protections for seven species of pangolins, the world’s most illegally trafficked mammal. In August, a judge ruled the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) must make a decision on those protections by June 2021. FWS admitted there is “substantial information indicating that listing the seven pangolin species under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted.” We are now closer than ever to achieving federal protections for the world’s most heavily trafficked mammal!
Trapping and Fur Farming
Assisted Victims of Trapping
This year we offered financial assistance to three animals through our Trapping Victims Fund. A dog in Utah, a puppy in Tennessee, and a great horned owl in Massachusetts all required surgical intervention after their legs were caught in traps. In addition to helping fund their treatment, we shared their stories as a part of our “Trap Free Trails” campaign. During the campaign, more than 10,000 supporters signed our petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service calling for a trapping ban on public lands!
Exposed Fur Farms
Fur farming in the U.S. is a hidden and largely unregulated industry. We investigated the U.S. fur farm industry to produce a report detailing the silent suffering of furbearers. The report exposes significant animal welfare concerns, a lack of oversight and enforcement, and an industry with no transparency. It also covers public health concerns due to zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19. We published the report to spur the U.S. to make progress on fur farm legislation.
Protecting Wildlife in the Wild
Stopped Deer Culls
For years, we have advocated against the cull of Mule Deer in Oak Bay, in the Victoria Capital Regional District (CRD) of British Columbia. An immunocontraception program that uses the animals’ own immune system to prevent reproduction was launched last year and the results were assessed this year. It was such a huge success that all thirteen of the regions in CRD have abandoned lethal culling of deer! This saved the lives of thousands of deer. As well, it provides encouraging evidence to help start similar programs elsewhere in British Columbia.
Saved Wildlife from Poison
Born Free USA’s research and document writing contributed to the decision by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) under Health Canada to ban the use of strychnine to kill Richardson’s Ground Squirrels. This pesticide was responsible for the cruel death of thousands of targeted animals as well as uncountable numbers of predators and scavengers. The ban applies to all of Canada.
Protected Cormorants
This year, we undertook a massive effort to organize opposition to the Ontario government’s decision to open a hunt for Double-crested Cormorants. The hunt was initially planned to extend from March 15 through to the end of December and would have allowed more birds to be killed than existed in the entire population. We were able to push the start of the hunt to mid-September, when the vast majority of the population has already migrated south. This saved the lives of thousands of birds. We are pushing to cancel next year’s hunt entirely.
Wildlife Education for the Public
Raised Public Awareness about Wildlife through our Webinar Series
Born Free USA launched a webinar series featuring experts in wildlife conservation. In 2020 we held webinars on the plight of captive big cats in the U.S., wildlife trafficking, trophy hunting, zoos, and fur farming. We were pleased to be able to expand these free educational efforts to our supporters in the U.S. and around the world. To watch previous webinars and to sign up to receive invitations to future events, please click here.
Primate Sanctuary
Safeguarded Staff and Monkeys from COVID-19
Soon after the pandemic began, scientific evidence suggested that some of the species of monkeys that we care for at the sanctuary could contract COVID-19 from humans. In addition to maintaining our already stringent safety protocols, designed to prevent disease transmission between monkeys and staff, the sanctuary went into a voluntary lockdown. Thanks to the hard work, dedication, and diligence of our entire team, we have been able to keep all of our monkeys and staff healthy and safe.
Added More Space to Support New Rescues
In the early 2020, we constructed a one-acre open top enclosure adjoining one of our existing enclosures that houses three baboons. This allowed us to increase the capacity of the sanctuary and take on new monkeys in need of a home. We also included gateways in the new enclosure, which allow for safe introductions and increased socialization.
Provided a Second Chance to Five New Monkeys!
This year, the Born Free USA Sanctuary welcomed Marlin the baboon, along with his two daughters Violet and Presley, and macaque friends Anna and Mrs. Wilkin. All five were rescued from squalid conditions at Cricket Hollow Zoo in Iowa. Now these monkeys are thriving in their new spacious enclosures, receiving much needed veterinary care, eating nutritious food, and making friends with their new neighbors!
Born Free USA is immensely proud of these achievements! Please join us in celebrating our successes – and help us hit the ground running in 2021 – by making a donation!
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Angela
