Wildlife
Defend

They cannot speak.
So we do.

Animals are among the most vulnerable beings on earth — unable to advocate for themselves, unable to report their suffering, unable to ask for help. The organisations we stand behind give them a voice, and a fighting chance.

Why Animals

The same forces that exploit people exploit animals.

Trafficking, exploitation, and the abuse of the voiceless are not separate problems. They share the same root: a belief that some lives matter less. E•M•A•N•C•I•P•A•T•I•O•N rejects that belief entirely.

Poaching is organised crime. It funds the same networks that traffic people. It destabilises communities, corrupts institutions, and strips ecosystems of the species that hold them together. When a rhino is killed for its horn, the people living alongside it lose too — their livelihoods, their heritage, and their safety.

Wild animal exploitation — from trophy hunting to the exotic pet trade to the use of animals in cruel entertainment — causes immeasurable suffering to billions of sentient creatures every year. These are not abstract statistics. They are individual lives.

We fund the organisations doing the hardest, most important work in this space. We amplify their reach. And we stand beside them.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

— Mahatma Gandhi
Defend Partner
Save the Rhino International

Five species.
All worth saving.

Founded in 1994, Save the Rhino International is Europe's largest single-species rhino charity. They work across Africa and Asia to conserve all five rhino species — the white, black, greater one-horned, Sumatran, and Javan — through on-the-ground conservation programmes, ranger support, and community engagement.

Visit savetherhino.org

The Crisis

Three of the five rhino species are Critically Endangered. The Sumatran rhino numbers fewer than 80 individuals in the wild. The Javan rhino is down to approximately 76. Poaching — driven by demand for rhino horn in illegal wildlife markets — remains the single greatest threat. A rhino is killed every ten hours.

What They Do

  • Fund and equip rangers on the front lines of anti-poaching operations across Africa and Asia
  • Support habitat restoration and invasive species removal to give rhinos more space to thrive
  • Engage local communities as active conservation partners, creating economic alternatives to poaching
  • Fund veterinary care, translocation programmes, and breeding initiatives for critically endangered species
  • Campaign to reduce demand for rhino horn through education and behaviour-change programmes

Impact

Over three decades, Save the Rhino has funded conservation programmes in more than 12 countries, supported thousands of rangers, and helped stabilise rhino populations in key reserves. Their work in Manas National Park in India helped bring the greater one-horned rhino back from near-local extinction. They are a trusted, transparent organisation with a proven record of putting funds where they matter most.

Rhino in the wild

A rhino is killed
every ten hours.

Defend Partner
World Animal Protection

Ending cruelty.
At scale.

For over 75 years, World Animal Protection has been one of the world's most effective animal welfare organisations. Operating in more than 50 countries, they work at the intersection of policy, industry, and community to create systemic change — not just individual rescues, but the transformation of the systems that cause suffering in the first place.

Visit worldanimalprotection.org

The Scale of the Problem

An estimated one trillion animals suffer in factory farms globally every year. Hundreds of millions of wild animals are exploited for entertainment, the exotic pet trade, and traditional medicine. Wildlife trafficking is the fourth largest criminal enterprise in the world, generating up to $23 billion annually. The suffering is industrial in scale — and largely invisible.

What They Do

  • Campaign to end the exploitation of wild animals in tourism, entertainment, and the exotic pet trade
  • Work with governments and international bodies to strengthen animal welfare legislation worldwide
  • Partner with food companies to improve welfare standards for farm animals across global supply chains
  • Rescue and rehabilitate wild animals from exploitative situations, including pangolins trafficked for their scales
  • Educate communities and shift consumer behaviour through evidence-based campaigns in over 50 countries

Impact

World Animal Protection has secured landmark policy wins in dozens of countries, convinced major travel companies to stop selling tickets to cruel wildlife attractions, and directly improved conditions for hundreds of millions of farm animals. Their 2024 Global Review documents campaigns active across every continent. For every £1 invested in their work, they generate £3.91 in impact — one of the most efficient animal welfare organisations on earth.

Defend Partner
World Wildlife Fund

The world's largest
conservation network.

Founded in 1961, WWF is the world's leading independent conservation organisation, active in nearly 100 countries with over 35 million supporters. Their mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and build a future where people and nature thrive together — addressing biodiversity loss, climate change, and the sustainable use of natural resources simultaneously.

Visit worldwildlife.org

The Crisis

The planet has lost 69% of its wildlife populations since 1970 — a collapse driven by habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Over one million species are currently threatened with extinction. Deforestation is clearing an area of forest the size of a football pitch every single second. Without urgent, coordinated action, entire ecosystems — and the communities that depend on them — will be lost within a generation.

What They Do

  • Protect and restore critical habitats — forests, oceans, freshwater systems, and grasslands — across nearly 100 countries
  • Combat wildlife trafficking through TRAFFIC, the world's leading wildlife trade monitoring network, co-managed with WWF
  • Engage governments, businesses, and communities to transform supply chains and reduce the footprint of food, energy, and finance
  • Lead science-based conservation programmes for iconic and critically endangered species including tigers, elephants, and great apes
  • Advocate at the highest levels of international policy — from the Paris Agreement to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Impact

WWF has helped protect over 1.5 billion acres of forest, created and managed hundreds of protected areas, and contributed to the recovery of species including the giant panda, mountain gorilla, and Amur tiger. Their Living Planet Report — published every two years — is the world's most authoritative assessment of the state of nature. With operations in nearly 100 countries and a global network of scientists, policy experts, and local partners, WWF operates at a scale that no other conservation organisation can match.

Take Action

Small acts of care,
multiplied, change everything.

You don't need to be an expert or a campaigner. You can share, you can support, and you can help us amplify the organisations doing this work. Every person who learns about this — and cares — makes the network stronger.

Want to get involved with E•M•A•N•C•I•P•A•T•I•O•N's Defend mission directly?

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