#Conservation of nature and environment#Animal welfare, animal ethics and animal rights
About the organization
Pro Wildlife combines international animal, nature and species protection. In Germany, at EU level and worldwide, Pro Wildlife works to improve laws for the protection of wild animals threatened by poaching, hunting, animal trade and habitat destruction.
We research and document abuses, write studies and statements, develop solutions and negotiate with decision-makers in Germany, the EU and at international conventions. Together with our local partners, we rescue victims of poaching and wildlife trafficking and carry out educational work to stop the exploitation of wild animals.
Our mission is to preserve biodiversity - from the African elephant to the dwarf chameleon.
Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.
Why we fund
The wildlife trade not only threatens biodiversity, but also human health.
Germany is the largest importer and sales market for live wild animals and wild animal products in the EU.
In its 2013 coalition agreement, the German government committed to, among other things, regulating the trade in wild animals uniformly across the country and banning the import of wild-caught animals into the EU. But little has happened since then.
We now hope that words will be followed by deeds and that these agreements will be implemented as quickly as possible.
In this context, it is important to also help less popular animal species to receive more attention and protection, to put animal welfare issues that have long fallen by the wayside back on the agenda and to participate in political committees.
For this reason, we support the Pro Wildlife campaign and want to help ensure that the "delicacy" of frogs' legs soon disappears from menus everywhere.
It is important to us that all natural habitats are preserved and protected. This includes the complex marine ecosystems. Marine and climate protection belong together. With their natural ability to store carbon dioxide and heat, the world's oceans offer important protection against climate change. But only intact ecosystems have the necessary resilience to counter the consequences of climate change.
Whale and dolphin hunting, overfishing, marine littering - these dangers can only be combated through international agreements such as the International Whaling Commission (IWC), public pressure and international cooperation.
We support the valuable and persistent work of Pro Wildlife e.V. so that the protection of the world's oceans can succeed in the long term and sustainably!
PROJECT DETAILS
What we fund
Campaign against the international frog leg trade
The frog leg trade is a long-forgotten animal & species conservation issue. But Pro Wildlife's research shows: The EU still imports more than 4,000 tons of frog legs from Indonesia every year - the equivalent of 84-200 million frogs, most of them captured from the wild and cruelly killed in Indonesia, Turkey and Albania.
Since 2021, we have been supporting Pro Wildlife's campaign against the international frog leg trade, enabling the issue to repeatedly make headlines around the world and get on the radar of political decision-makers. The most important milestones of this project:
2021
Research into the scope and ecological consequences of the global frog leg trade; highlighting the central role of the EU and France in particular
Gaining the French nature conservation organization Robin des Bois as a project partner
Research in French supermarkets and on the most important sales websites
Presenting the issue to the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for the first time
2022
Publication of the report “Deadly Dish: Role and responsibility of the European Union in the international frogs' legs trade”
Accompanying press work with ~ 160 media reports in France, the entire EU, Eastern Europe and Indonesia, among others
Sending the report to 175 restaurants in Germany to have frogs' legs removed from the menu
Involvement of German celebrity chefs in the social media awareness campaign
Organization & implementation of an event on frogs' legs at the CITES conference
2023
Publication of two specialist articles in scientific journals; accompanying press work
Publication of ~ 130 further international press articles on the frogs' legs issue
Discussions and negotiations with the leading French supermarket chains
Compilation of comprehensive background information as a basis for CITES protection applications for the frog species concerned in the run-up to the 2025 CITES conference
Targeted social media awareness campaign in France to raise awareness and reduce demand for frogs' legs
Presentation on the frog leg issue at the CITES workshop on amphibian conservation
2024
Preparation and coordination of a joint letter from > 550 researchers, veterinarians and other experts to French President Emanuel Macron
Preparation and coordination of a joint letter from 43 animal and nature conservation organizations to the EU environment ministers calling for the affected frogs to be placed under CITES protection
Accompanying press work leads to a further 90 media reports, incl. CNN, Washington Post
Exchange with European CITES authorities to initiate protection applications for the 2025 CITES conference
Further negotiations with French supermarkets. Almost all French supermarket chains stop their imports of frog legs from Indonesia in summer 2024 due to animal and species conservation concerns
Campaign for more marine protection
The situation for dolphins and small cetaceans is dramatic: around 100,000 unprotected small marine mammals are still hunted every year. In addition, Norway and Japan in particular are still engaged in commercial whaling. Almost two thirds of the global subsidies for fisheries, estimated at almost 30 billion euros, support measures that further fuel the overfishing of the oceans.
Since 2021, Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! has been supporting Pro Wildlife's marine conservation campaign to counteract harmful fishing policies and improve the protection of marine life. Accompanied by educational and public campaigns, we were able to help shape these milestones (excerpt):
2021
Collaboration in the “Alliance against harmful fishing subsidies” to inform the World Trade Organization (WTO) about the effects of fishing practices
Drawing up a “Seven-point plan to protect the oceans” for the development of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030
First-ever ban on fishing the highly endangered mako shark in the North Atlantic by the ICCAT fisheries agreement
The international #SaveOurSharks campaign ensures that the shark fishing ban in the Maldives is maintained
The EU Parliament adopts Pro Wildlife's call for Norway and Japan to stop their whaling activities.
2022
The EU citizens' initiative #StopFinningEU has reached the minimum number of 1 million EU citizens. The EU Commission and EU Parliament must now consider legislation on shark finning.
A joint campaign by Pro Wildlife and partners on the occasion of a record dolphin massacre in the Faroe Islands leads to a strong EU resolution against this dolphin hunt.
First-ever catch limits for the mako shark in the South Atlantic under the ICCAT fisheries agreement
Official statement on the scope and problems of dolphin hunting at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)
2023
List of demands to the German government for a sustainable marine policy
EU package of measures begins with the investigation of a shark fin trade ban
Active participation in the scientific committee of the ICCAT fisheries agreement to protect the blue shark; this led to a limited catch quota in the South Atlantic for the first time
EU adopts an action plan to ban bottom trawls in protected areas
2024
Pro Wildlife publishes a report on global dolphin hunting; international lobbying for stricter protection of dolphins
A resolution against commercial whaling initiated by Pro Wildlife is adopted by the International Whaling Commission with a ¾ majority - the first of its kind in more than 20 years
New social media awareness campaign “Here you can help! - The fish on your plate” with lots of background information on fish consumption
The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.
