WILDLIFE TRADE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
Ivory belongs to elephants
 Elephants are still endangered, with populations in the forests of Central and West Africa and in Asia particularly vulnerable. Africa's elephant population was decimated in the 1970s and 80s due to rampant poaching for ivory - and while numbers are slowly recovering in some areas, including South Africa, other factors such as habitat loss and conflict with humans continue to threaten the survival of the continent's elephants.
IFAW believes that any legal trade in ivory - no matter how small - can create a smokescreen for the illegal trade in ivory, leading to increased poaching. Therefore IFAW is calling on the UK Government to:
- Oppose the proposed stockpile sales from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa;
- Oppose any re-opening of the ivory trade;
- Support improved measures to conserve elephant populations and their habitats;
- Support better enforcement against poaching on the ground at future CITES meetings.
Visit IFAW’s campaign site for more information.
Caught in the Web
 The Internet is increasingly being used to buy and sell wildlife on a vast scale. This trade in live animals and parts of endangered species is causing untold suffering to millions of exotic animals traded as "pets" and is pushing endangered species closer to extinction. Much of the global wildlife trade is illegal and those involved risk heavy penalties and prison sentences.
IFAW's report Caught in the Web: Wildlife Trade on the Internet, highlights the devastating consequences of Internet trading for both conservation and animal welfare and makes concrete recommendations for action.
Caught in the Web aims to raise awareness of this growing phenomenon and help the UK government, law enforcement agencies and website owners such as eBay to stop illegal wildlife trade on the Internet. The Internet is truly global in nature and the findings, conclusions and recommendations are therefore highly relevant to other countries.
For further information and to take action visit: www.caughtintheweb.co.uk or IFAW’s campaign site
Born to be wild: Primates are not pets
Primate species and populations are endangered around the world, with one in four feared to become extinct in the next 20 years. Yet, here in the UK it is legal to keep and trade primates as pets. Anyone can log on to the Internet, scan the classified sections of trading and specialist magazines or enquire in their local pet shop, and subsequently obtain their own 'pet' monkey. There is little regulation, and even less guidance, for traders and owners. Some experts believe there may be as many as 1,500-3,000 primates being kept as pets in the UK - although the exact number and the welfare of these animals is unknown due to inadequate legislation. Primates are wild animals, and are not suitable to be kept as pets in our homes.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
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MARINE CAMPAIGNS
Canadian seal slaughter
Over the past three years the Canadian government has allowed (and aided through indirect subsidies) the slaughter of almost one million seals.
The seals are clubbed or shot and veterinary checks have shown up to 40% are still alive when skinned for their fur. Most of the carcasses are left to rot on the ice.
Since its inception in 1969, IFAW has led the campaign to end this cruel and unnecessary hunt. We continue to maintain international pressure against this brutal practice, and in March 2005 again had a team on the ice in Canada documenting the cruelty of the slaughter. Now the largest marine mammal hunt in the world, it is currently bigger than at any other time in the last 50 years.
Several of IFAW’s country offices, including the UK, are working towards national bans on the import of seal products.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
 Making waves to stop whaling
Whaling has driven many of the great whale species to the brink of extinction. Despite an international ban on whaling in 1986, Japan and Iceland still carry out this inherently cruel activity, using a “scientific” loophole in the international agreement, and putting the whale meat on sale in restaurants and supermarkets.
This year Japan announced its intention to double the number of minkes it takes in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary in Antarctica to 935, as well as adding fin whales to the list. From 2007 Japan also intends to hunt the endangered humpback whale. Since Iceland resumed whaling in August 2003 after a break of 14 years, 100 minke whales have been killed in its coastal waters. Norway hunts commercially and this year harpooned 639 minke whales.
In 2004 IFAW took its purpose-built research and education vessel, Song of the Whale, to Iceland to show the value of non-invasive research methods. IFAW offered internships for Icelandic students to spend time on board and participate in studies of blue and fin whales. A series of port visits enabled local people to find out more, and UK, German and Icelandic politicians were taken out on the boat. The Song of the Whale team is planning a return visit to Iceland for summer 2006.
IFAW urges whaling nations to end whaling and promotes responsible whale watching as a humane and sustainable alternative.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
Porpoise plight
With numbers declining in many marine areas, the harbour porpoise is threatened throughout its range. Europe’s smallest whale is impacted by human activities in the coastal zone, including pollution and habitat disturbance. The most acute threat is the entanglement and death of thousands of harbour porpoises in the nets of the EU’s fishing fleets –referred to as "bycatch". Up to 10,000 porpoises are accidentally caught in fishing nets in European waters each year.
Harbour porpoises are legally protected under EU environmental law, but IFAW believes protection can only be achieved through EU-wide fisheries measures to end bycatch. We are asking the UK Government to strengthen regulations at a national level by providing an assessment of the number of UK vessels, currently excluded from the EU Bycatch Regulation, and by ensuring effective monitoring of porpoise bycatch.
In the UK, IFAW has been funding scientific research into the presence of harbour porpoises in Cornish estuaries.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
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HUNTING WITH DOGS
 Victory for animal welfare
IFAW campaigned since 1989 in the UK, alongside other organizations, for a ban on the cruel sport of hunting deer, foxes, hares and mink with dogs. Scotland banned hunting with dogs in 2002 and two years later Westminster followed suit.
The Hunting Act 2004 was passed on November 18th 2004 by the use of the Parliament Acts (1911 and 1949), which were automatically invoked to fulfill the wishes of the elected House of Commons. The ban came into effect three months later on 18th February 2005. This was a momentous occasion and a true victory for animal welfare and democracy.
Enforcing the law
IFAW believes that the Hunting Act is a good, clear piece of legislation that protects foxes, deer, hares and mink from the cruelty of being chased and torn apart by a pack of dogs.
To ensure that the Hunting Act is enforced, IFAW’s Wildlife Crime Investigators continue to monitor hunts post-ban to ensure that hunts are acting within the law. We are working closely with individual local police forces and with the Association of Chief Police Officers to share our experience and expertise on hunting with them.
IFAW also jointly produced a training video with the League Against Cruel Sports that has been distributed to all police forces explaining what is legal and illegal under the Act. The legislation has narrow exemptions but no loopholes. If hunters break the law, then it is only a matter of time before they find themselves in court. Indeed, Merseyside Police have already secured a successful prosecution under the Act.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
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EMERGENCY RELIEF AND PET RESCUE
Emergency Relief
IFAW has an international team of experts on standby round the clock to assist animals in crisis and distress throughout the world. The Emergency Relief team provides valuable coordination for vital on-the-ground efforts to save animals threatened by oil spills, strandings, earthquakes, wildfires and other natural disasters. The team members are widely recognised as leaders in their field, and are frequently called upon to share their specialised knowledge with other animal welfare groups.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
Pet Rescue
IFAW campaigns to protect companion animals around the world. We aim not only to save cats and dogs from neglect, cruelty and suffering, but also to increase awareness of their unique place in our communities as companion animals.
We use our unparalleled network of international offices and experts to create new laws and animal education programs to aid and rescue countless more dogs, cats and other pets each year.
For further information visit IFAW’s campaign site.
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