Registered Charity in England & Wales No.1165941

Our Response to the Coronavirus

17
Mar

Our Response to the Coronavirus

UPDATE: Friday 6th November- More than eight months into the turmoil that COVID-19 has created around the world, the Wild Welfare team continue to work harder than ever to help animals around the world. Our international travel may still be on hold, but our projects are very much still active and we are continuing our work in these uncertain times, to help ensure all wild animals living in captivity can receive the best in welfare. Thank you for your continued support.

The COVID-19 virus strain is causing uncertainty and worry around the world. Being a small grassroots charity, we are sadly not immune to the impact.

Our international reach means our remit involves global travel, visiting captive wildlife facilities such as zoos and working with local and national communities as part of our programmes. While we are always looking for ways to reduce the necessity of travel and our carbon footprint, some in-country work is always essential.

We always ensure our team carry out a high standard of health and safety related protocols when at work and with the advent of coronavirus, we have reviewed these protocols to ensure our team and partners are as safe as they can be when in the field. We take bio-security seriously and are very grateful to Safe4 for providing us with gloves and disinfectant products to use for our in-country work. Pocket-sized hand sanitiser containers are extremely useful and some Safe4 products have been proven to be effective against coronavirus.

However, with the COVID-19 virus outbreak now classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, the travel required for our field project work must be severely decreased. This is for the protection of our staff as well as ensuring we follow current travel guidelines and restrictions. 

Although this will have implications for the animals, people and communities we are working with, we are continuing to provide support and guidance remotely. Whether through the development of identified and tailored resources, specific species advice, learning materials or just ongoing support, we are maintaining active communication and actions to continue building the strong relationships and partnerships that are critical for long-term welfare change.

In light of the current situation, we are now investigating further alternatives, such as virtual workshops and online meetings to continue the work already achieved by, for example, our partners in the Partner for Animals programme. It is important to keep the momentum going until we can continue on the ground initiatives and practical staff training programmes. Not only does this mean we can meet our objectives in these challenging times, but we can also build on the existing relationship we have with our partner facilities.

While we often highlight our field work to supporters, we also have some really exciting non-practical programmes, including developing accessible animal welfare resources and support packages. One example is a new learning programme that we aim to launch later this year. This extensive programme has been designed to be universally applicable to those wanting to find out more about animal welfare in captive facilities like zoos, aquariums and sanctuaries, and it encourages participation and engagement on topical welfare issues and practices. 

Unfortunately in these uncertain times, grassroots charities such as ours do suffer financially. Understandably organisations and supporters become less able to donate when they themselves are uncertain about their future, but if you like what we do, we really appreciate your continued support through ways such as liking and sharing our content across social media.

Our team is committed to ensuring all zoos and captive wildlife facilities offer their animals the best animal welfare and we will continue to adapt our activities in these uncertain times, to push forward our projects and create a world where all wild animals in captivity can live a life worth living.

Donate to our COVID-19 Appeal HERE

~ENDS~

Notes to Editors

For more information or interview requests please contact Wild Welfare on communications@wildwelfare.org

Wild Welfare is a global organisation committed to improving animal welfare for captive wild animals. By uniting the world’s leading zoos, zoo associations and animal welfare organisations, we build trusting partnerships that help provide long-term solutions to critical wild animal welfare issues.

Our vision is to end the suffering of captive wild animals around the world and ensure full and sustainable protection is given to all animals in human care. Find out more at wildwelfare.org. Registered charity in England (no.1165941).