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Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to our Blog pages! Here you’ll find our thoughts, opinions and occasional angry outbursts on the subjects that matter to us. So if you’re concerned about wildlife and any of the issues Care for the Wild deals with, please stay tuned!

Volunteers valued!

Care for the Wild are privileged to be supported by many kind volunteers, who offer their time and skills in a range of ways across our work. We want to celebrate the amazing asset of our dedicated voluntary team who have supported us over the year.

As a small team with a constantly buzzing schedule we really value the time and experience gained through our wonderful unsung heroes. From writing and research to hands-on gardening and diy, data and administration to fundraising, events, shows and press – all invaluable work that keeps Care for the Wild progressing in our mission to rescue-protect-defend wildlife.

Fancy getting involved?

‘Urgent Call to Action’! Right now we are looking to build our ‘gardening voluntary group’ and are searching for green fingered volunteers to help build our wildlife friendly garden- found out how to join in here.

Are you handy with a hammer? We are looking to use your DIY skills – find our handyperson vacancy here.

Heard about ‘Tigers in Focus’?  Next week we need events and show volunteers to help out at our fabulous opening event and exhibition – find out about shows and events here. Keep an eye on all our current vacancies here.

Why We’re Marching Against the Badger Cull

Recently, in an interview with the Sunday Times, Defra Secretary Owen Paterson said that he would like to cull 100,000 badgers over a 25 year period. On the other hand, Mr Paterson states that:  ‘we’d love to vaccinate but vaccination of cattle is at least 10 years away’. These two statements contradict each other so clearly – why 25 years if vaccines are only 10 years away?

G8 or Too Late: World Leaders Must Tackle Poaching Crisis Now

The President should join forces with the British Prime Minister David Cameron and go to the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland in June calling on G8 members to pledge a small fraction of their aid budgets to fund the African Elephant Action plan and turn the tide against the ivory poachers

Rhino Run – Max’s Great Escape!

Whilst Max may have lost his sight he has an exceptional sense of smell – something his keepers know only too well. On the discovery of his escape at daybreak, the team cleverly used his dung as a familiar scent to guide him back home to his stockade where he was treated to a bottle of milk and some delicious bananas.

Walk on the Wild Side – Celebrities Taking Strides to Fight Poaching

So on that note, it’s great to see some well-known people putting their best foot forward to help the cause! Organised by Asgar Pathan, Director of Care for the Wild Kenya, the Walk for Wildlife takes place in June, and features a gruelling 650km trek from Arusha in Tanzania and ending in the Marai Mara park.

Lands Stolen for Conservation – Is There Another Way?

This month the Tanzanian government officially announced a new conservation area – good news surely? However the earmarked area is home to the Maasai nomadic pastoralists – a community of people who have already squeezed into smaller and smaller areas in the name of conservation, in this case in the form of fee-paying tourists for trophy hunts.

Get, SETT, Go! Marathon Efforts to Help our Badgers

The team, many of whom were first time marathon runners, wore black and white running vests proclaiming ‘Cure Not Kill’. The message was obviously noticed – as I found out myself! Waiting at the finishing line, I draped one of our Cure Not Kill tee-shirts over the barrier near the finishing line. After a while, a man in an official looking tracksuit and headphones came running towards me: “Take that down, it’s a political message!”

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright – successful rehabilitation of ‘killer’ tiger

How do you solve a problem like a ‘killer’ tiger? Normally, there would be no chance of that tiger being allowed to roam free – death or captivity would be the inevitable ending. But some amazing work going on in India may have found an alternative.

CITES Report Card – read all our blogs from the convention

CITES is over for another three years. More species have been protected, others have been unprotected, and a few are no longer with us. How did CITES 2013 rate? Read our Report Card and our blogs on all the big issues.

If you’re looking for our press releases from CITES please click here.

Thailand’s Tiger Temple – Temple of Lies

The tigers were way too placid – as a visitor I was in no place to say whether they were drugged or not, and personally I’m unsure if they were – I just think they were completely emotionally broken.

Responsible Travel: Don’t Leave Your Morals at Home! 12.2.13

You’re on a walking holiday in the Lake District, enjoying the wildlife and the greenery and walking through a field with cows and bulls grazing. Then a man appears with daggers, swords and a cloak and starts stabbing the bull. What would you do? One thing I’m pretty certain of is that no one would go closer, sit down, watch the suffering, and then dig out £20 of your hard earned cash and give it to the man causing the pain and suffering.

Travel Advertising Ironies: The Good, The Bad, and the WTF?? 4.2.13

Chinese Year of Marine Tourism? Would now be a good time to mention the 73 million sharks killed annually for shark fin soup for the Chinese market, or the 150 million sea horses killed per year for Traditional Chinese Medicine???

What The Life of Pi tells us about elephant poaching and the badger cull. 29.1.13

The problem of bovine TB is one such clash, and a heartbreaking one for farmers. But surely, like with the elephants and tigers, we can find a solution that doesn’t involve wiping out everything in our path.