Published Tuesday March 5,2024, the charity’s Bred for profit: The truth about global wildlife farming report reveals for the first time the vast scale of this exploitative industry in which billions of wild animals are bred to be traded as pets, used for entertainment or tourist attractions, and turned into ornaments, luxury food, fashion products or traditional medicine.
While launching the global Wildlife Not Profit campaign, World Animal Protection’s Wildlife Campaign Manager, Edith Kabesiime said, “Our report that form base for this campaign has some shocking revelations on the cruelty wild animals go through in captive farms. Recently our country wanted to go the same route, but we highly discourage it. It will create more problems than what it is trying to solve in the name of repopulations. In fact, the report captures that in some countries where this is being practised, there are more wild animals in captive farms than in the wild and the problems this has brought are enormous.”
Edith added revealed, “Is this where we want to head to as a respected nation in wildlife protection? Will this be sustainable in the long run? Several decades from now, will we still have wildlife with the necessary survival instincts in the wild? Our urge to the government is to stop heading to that route and focus on enhancing wildlife habitats and allow wild animals to thrive in the wild where they belong. With proper protection and management of wildlife areas, our wildlife species will repopulate and thrive better than in captive farms.”
In the report, researchers found an astonishing lack of transparency and inadequate monitoring across the global multi-billion-dollar industry, where sentient animals are treated as mere components in a cruel production line. Through a long history of working across many of these exploitative industries, World Animal Protection know that large numbers of wild animals suffer from malnourishment, disease, stress-induced behaviors, injuries, infected wounds – and even cannibalism.
The report, compiled using Freedom of Information requests and other research, also details how the high numbers of animals living in cramped, unhygienic conditions put their caretakers and the public at risk of zoonotic diseases – potentially to pandemic proportions.
World Animal Protection research found very little evidence to support claims by some conservationists that breeding programmes fulfil the demand for wildlife products and reduce pressure on wild populations.
Shockingly, some captive wildlife populations are now larger than those living free.
Whether it be for the wild life repopulation, pet industry, trophy hunting, entertainment, traditional medicine, decoration, or fashion – cruel wildlife farming must end now. Wild animals have the right to a wild life. Governments, the private sector, and consumers must prioritize efforts to ensure that wildlife is protected in their natural habitats. The public must also be guarded against the very real threat of zoonotic diseases from wildlife farms.
The animals trapped in captive farming captured in the report must be the last generation of wild animals farmed for profit. Wildlife is not for humans to exploit, and everyone can play a part in protecting animals from cruel commercial exploitation. Join World animal protection in saying no to the cruel farming of wild animals.
World Animal Protection is urging Ugandan government to consider alternative forms of wildlife repopulation and take immediate action by implementing a comprehensive and timely phase out of any commercial wildlife breeding and associated trade.
Members of the public are encouraged to support the Wildlife Not Profit campaign by supporting the demand to end wildlife farming. Sign the pledge.
