Care for the Wild International is an animal charity, a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

established in 1984 and based in the United Kingdom. It supports wildlife projects and it campaigns on animal rights issues in Britain and around the world.

History

Care for the Wild International was set up by Dr Bill Jordan in 1984 from his bookshop in

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, West Sussex in the United Kingdom. As the charity grew, it moved to new premises but it is still based in Horsham. It is now an international organisation with an annual income of over £700,000, using the money to fund projects and campaigns both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

Mission

The stated aim of Care for the Wild International is to "rescue, protect and defend animals in need around the globe". It helps fund rescue centres and animal sanctuaries caring for abandoned, injured and orphaned wild animals in the United Kingdom and in Africa. It operates an "adoption" scheme under which donors can target their donations towards specific objectives. Protection of wildlife is done through supporting projects such as anti-

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

patrols and campaigns against the use of snares. It seeks to educate people about the importance of their local wildlife and on the way to minimise conflicts between people and animals. Care for the Wild International joins with other campaigning organisations to try to defend the rights of animals, taking part in both local actions, such as opposing

badger cull Badger culling in the United Kingdom is permitted under licence, within a set area and timescale, as a way to reduce badger numbers in the hope of controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). Humans can catch bTB, but public health cont ...

ing, and international actions to limit the trade in

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

Projects and campaigns

The stance of Care for the Wild International on the poaching of elephants is backed by its funding of anti-poaching patrols and an elephant orphanage coupled with a re-release programme. This it does in association with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya which manages an orphanage for motherless elephants and rhinoceroses. In April 2005, Care for the Wild International joined with the

Wildlife Trust of India The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is an Indian nature conservation organisation. WTI was formed in November 1969 in New Delhi, India, as a response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of wildlife in India. WTI is a registered charity in Indi ...

to confront the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

about the trade in

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

skins in Tibet, a campaign that changed attitudes in Tibet on the use of tiger pelts as clothing. Another campaign has endeavoured to prevent the sale of live

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

s as food at

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

supermarkets in China. Other campaigns have targeted the poaching of rhinoceroses for their horns, and the trade in

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

in the United States which imports large quantities of illegal ivory from poached elephants and which

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

has described as an "ivory trade problem country". Care for the Wild International has joined with the

Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...

to produce a report "''Extinction: It’s Not Just for Polar Bears''" which describes the effects that

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

is having on the Arctic. The report describes the changes taking place in the Arctic and what species are affected. It also provides an action plan for mitigating the problem. Other scientific reports have covered the

ivory trade The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants. Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, ...

, the Chinese fur industry, the fate of tigers, the evidence supporting badger culling, the impact that hunting

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...

has on

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

populations and the management of

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

s in South Africa.

References

{{reflist Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1984