WHEN WE PROTECT WILDLIFE, WE PROTECT OURSELVES
Wild animals are cruelly caught, traded, stacked, shipped, killed, and consumed in wildlife markets. Many of them carry viruses to which they have developed immunity over thousands of years. We humans, however, do not have such protection. A virus that can live in a healthy bat can infect and kill us by the million, as we are witnessing across the globe right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s estimated that as many as 1.7 million unidentified viruses exist in animals which can infect humans. Any one of these could be the cause of the next pandemic.
What caused the COVID-19 outbreak? A bat? A pangolin? No – it was us. Because of our treatment of nature.
To deal with the very immediate threat of another global catastrophe, we have to focus on ending the destruction and conversion of natural habitats and the devastating impact of the wildlife trade. As an essential first step, wildlife markets must close. The shutters need to come down – for good. We must learn. We must re-educate ourselves. We must act. Now.
When we protect them all, we protect ourselves.
ABOUT PROTECT THEM, PROTECT US
“Our treatment of the natural world has brought the planet to the brink. It is time for us to step away from the edge, for the sake of all life on Earth.” – Joanna Lumley OBE
Born Free has joined forces with a new short film Protect Them, Protect Us, narrated by Born Free’s Founder Patron Joanna Lumley OBE. Launching in 2021, Protect Them, Protect Us explains why we must take action now to close wildlife markets, reset our relationship with the natural world, and invest in nature.
LEARN MORE
The fate and well-being of humankind is directly connected to the health of the natural world. To safeguard our future as a species, we must work to protect wildlife and the habitats that sustain them. Click below to learn how, through our campaigns, Born Free USA is fighting to save species, protect ecosystems, and keep wildlife in the wild.
The illegal trade in wild animals is a multi-billion dollar industry that decimates wildlife populations and endangers human health and safety.
Keeping wild animals in captivity is cruel to the animals and brings people and animals into dangerously close proximity.
Animals on fur farms suffer in cruel conditions before being killed for their fur. The conditions on fur farms also make them perfect sites for disease spread.
We must safeguard the Endangered Species Act, the foremost wildlife protection law in the United States, to save species and ecosystems.
We must secure large-scale financial investment in nature recovery to protect wildlife, stop habitat destruction, and preserve livelihoods.
As human development progressively encroaches on wildlife habitat, conflicts between wildlife and people increase, often leading to devastation for animals.
YOU CAN HELP
1. Make a Donation
Your gift supports our work to end wildlife trafficking, keep wild animals in the wild, support nature recovery, and so much more. Use the form in this section to donate!
2. Spread the Word on Social Media
Help spread the word about the threats to nature by sharing our Protect Them, Protect Us video! Here are sample social media posts for Facebook and Twitter:
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our world and, to deal with the threat of another global catastrophe, we have to focus on ending the harmful exploitation of wildlife and the destruction of the natural world. Watch this video by @BornFreeUSA and @BornFreeFoundation that explains why, to protect ourselves, we must protect animals, too. #ProtectThemProtectUs https://youtu.be/dL-nb1WdwQQ
#COVID19 has transformed our world. To prevent future #pandemics, we must end the exploitation of #wildlife and nature. Watch this video by @BornFreeUSA & @BornFreeFDN that explains why, to protect ourselves, we must protect animals. #ProtectThemProtectUs https://youtu.be/dL-nb1WdwQQ
3. Urge States to Take Immediate Action on COVID-19 in Fur Farms
Sign our petition calling on state authorities in Utah, Wisconsin, and Michigan to take urgent action to address COVID-19 on fur farms!
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