hey everyone...

today i was accosted by a lovely english backpacker campaigning for WWF...

i agreed to contribute $35 a month, and feel pretty good about it, but my mind does tick over a tad, and i did find some of the specifics a bit hazy regarding where donar dollars go...

anyone here had any experience with WWF or any opinions on the work they do!?

i hope i'm not contributing to an over-politicised beuracracy of sorts!

:confused:

i read this a while ago and it of course, made me wonder...
growing up, my family was always involved with WWF, and i never heard anything bad, but i dunno...i was pretty pissed to read this.

Would the World Wildlife Fund Have Supported the Slaughter of the Passenger Pigeon? You Bet they Would
That’s why they Support the Canadian Seal Slaughter Today

If the World Wildlife Fund was established back in the 19th Century, they would have indeed supported both the commercial exploitation and the recreational hunting of the passenger pigeon. After all, there were millions of them, and WWF supports both the commercial slaughter and the recreational killing of wildlife.

But, of course, they would have mounted a big fund-raising effort to save the last few survivors during the first decade of the 20th Century.

Yes, the pleas would have gone out begging for money to save the passenger pigeon. The World Wildlife Fund would have led the prayer vigil for Martha, the last Passenger pigeon, as she lay dying in her cage at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

Today they are doing this with the Harp Seal.

The WWF is supporting the increased kill quotas and has endorsed the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet.

WHY?

The World Wildlife Fund has long been a haven for big game hunters, hunters, trappers, fur farmers, commercial fishing corporations, and other enemies of animals.

Now, the World Wildlife Fund has publicly endorsed the largest marine wildlife slaughter in the world.

This statement below is taken directly from the website of the World Wildlife Fund Canada:

What WWF is Not!

WWF is not an animal welfare organization. We support the hunting and consumption of wild animals provided the harvesting does not threaten the long-term survival of wildlife populations. WWF has never opposed a sustainable seal hunt in northern or eastern Canada.

Whoa – where does this word “sustainable” come from?

The East Coast slaughter of harp seals is not some Inuit or Native subsistence hunt.

It is a Canadian government subsidized slaughter and the quotas set for 350,000 a year for three years are the largest quotas ever established. Not since 1850, when unrestricted slaughter saw kills of a million seals a year has there been numbers like this. There is nothing sustainable about these numbers and the government has not produced one peer-reviewed scientific study to justify such numbers.

Yet, the World Wildlife Fund endorses this hunt.

The question must be asked, “Does the WWF serve the interests of the Canadian government or does it serve the interests of wildlife?” The answer is obvious.

THE SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY SUPPORTS BRIGITTE BARDOT’S CRITICISM OF THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND

Famed French Film Actress Brigitte Bardot sent a letter on March 17th to Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the President of the World Wildlife Fund.

In her letter Brigitte said:

“I wish to share with you my profound indignation, deep sadness and disgust concerning the position of World Wildlife Fund Canada supporting the new quota decided by the government, the hunt of one million seals over a period of three years!

How can an organization that you preside over and that has no need to prove its reputation in the domain of the conservation of species anymore, defend such a scandalous position?

I went to the ice pack more than 25 years ago, I saw the massacre of these baby seals, their head smashed by clubs and picks, I saw these bleeding bodies, these babies struggling for life whilst being skinned… I will never forget these pictures, the screams of pain, they still torture me but they have given me the strength to sacrifice my whole life to defend the animal’s one.

I have often supported WWF, given my image to some of its programmes, and I feel betrayed, it has attacked my most symbolic battle.

It is easy and unfair to accuse the seals of consuming too much fish when, during the same period of time, floating factories decimate the sea beds, transforming this natural richness into an aquatic desert. Seals are victims of overflowing industrial fishing and definitely not responsible for the deterioration of the populations, they are also victims of the climatic changes and are directly threatened by the melting of the ice.

Our duty is to protect them before it’s too late!”

If you agree with Brigitte Bardot that this hunt is despicable and is a threat to the long term survival of the harp seal and that it’s a slaughter of abject, horrific cruelty, then please boycott WWF.

If you are a WWF member – notify them of cancellation of your membership.

Contact them and let them know what you think:

This is contact information from their website:

For questions or concerns related to membership or donations, please email gifts@wwfcanada.org.

For questions or concerns related to WWF's conservation programs, please email panda@wwfcanada.org.

You can also reach them by mail, phone or fax:

WWF Canada

245 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 410 Toronto, ON

M4P 3J1 Canada

Phone: 1-800-26-PANDA

In the Toronto area: (416) 489-8800

Fax: (416) 489-8055

since they support animal testing, I don't support them.

whoa...

i certainly will be cancelling those donations!

even though i'm in australia, i'll be clear about why, as they are the same organisation...

there are other organisations fighting for just causes who aren't misleading in this way...

i'm disappointed, but sadly, not surprised... :(

ya its disappointing they do some good for animals but some bad too like them supporting animal testing is sad i dont know how you can want to help some animals but think its ok to put others in such a cruel enviroment type thing

I too used to support WWF but after further research I found out about the animal testing thing and stopped my contributions. There was a package I was sent by a company that gave me stickers with little rabbits on them.. you know like the animals safe rabbit logo on the back of vegan shampoo bottles and such? Anyway I am drawing a blank on the name of the organization.. but I sent them a few bucks and sent those stickers on to the other charities I usually give to. That was the purpose of this organization was to make people aware of where their money is really going so that really opened my eyes a lot.

I'm going to go look on the web right now as I still can't remember the name of that place! :confused:

http://www.humaneseal.org That's who it was that sent me stickers! I'm glad I found it to share with you all .. :D

And while I was looking for that I came across http://www.veggieglobal.com/veggieanimalgroups/index.htm

My problem with WWF (and with many charities) is that I contribute once and for the next 3 years I get glossy brochures, calendars, address labels, magazines, etc. from them. I avoid any charities that spend so much money on that kind of thing instead of using it for actual programs.

Oh, yeah, and the animal testing thing, too.

www.charitablechoices.org lists a bunch of charities that meet specific criteria--i.e., no more than a certain percentage of their budget on administrative costs. There's a number of pretty cool animal welfare organizations on there.

I also use to contribute to WWF, but upon further research, let my membership expire. They still send me all that "free stuff" trying to get me to donate again. I have way more address labels and stickers than I'll ever use.

so who can we donate to?

me!
just kidding
give $ to local independent shelters

But this does raise a question that I have had. What is a good environmental organization to give to?

I just read some bad stuff about Nature Conservancy too.
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5273&

Hey kiddies...

I contacted WWF and cancelled my donations to them after the questions this thread raised. I got a reply today, and i thought you may be interested...

Dear Katrina

Hello and thank you for your email. Your donations have been cancelled.

We recognise that many people feel strongly about the animal welfare
aspects of the commercial seal hunt. Although the focus of WWF is
on conservation and not on animal welfare issues, we do support the
position that for both the indigenous and the commercial hunt, the
most humane method possible should be used. There are many welfare
organisations who focus on this issue, which leaves WWF to focus on
threatened species and their habitats.

However, we can state WWF Australia does not condone the clubbing of
harp seals.

I hope that the attached position statement answers any outstanding
questions you might have. If you have any further queries, please
don't hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards...

ATTACHMENT:

WWF Position on the Harp Seal hunt off Canada’s East Coast

25/03/03

WWF’s focus as a conservation organisation is on protecting and conserving eco-systems, habitats and healthy populations of species in the wild.

WWF’S CONSERVATION WORK IN CANADA

WWF Canada actively works on forestry, climate and marine issues. The habitat of the harp seals for instance is one of the areas where they actively work with local communities to establish marine protected areas, lobby together with them to prevent unnecessary oil spills, and work co-operatively to recover truly endangered species. Harp seals are just one of many species that benefit from our work to preserve the marine environment.

In relation to commercial hunting of Harp Seals;

· WWF Canada has never supported a culling of seals to re-build the East Coast fishery
· WWF Canada's ongoing conservation concern has been that the commercial hunt for harp seals should never endanger the population and it has made this point clear to the Canadian Government.


HARP SEALS

The Canadian harp seal population is abundantly healthy - with over five million individuals. The harp seal is a migratory species, which is hunted by indigenous people in the North (where the seals spend their winters) as well as by commercial hunters off Newfoundland and Labrador (where the seals have their pups in spring, which starts in March).

SEAL HUNT BY INUIT IN THE ARCTIC

WWF Canada supports the sustainable hunting of seals by Inuit. Inuit hunt only adult seals. There are very few harp seal pups in the North, since these seals move south where they rear their pups in spring. Inuit have hunted seals long before non-aboriginal people arrived in North America, because their very existence depends on it. Their primary reason to hunt these seals is for meat.

COMMERCIAL HUNT FOR HARP SEALS ON THE EAST COAST OF CANADA

At present the commercial hunt for harp seals off the coast of Canada is of no threat to the population of over 5 million harp seals. WWF will continue to monitor the status of the Harp Seal population and secure the protection of its environment.



..... so, do any of us feel any better?!

National Geographic Society gets my money. Feel free to criticise me, but I'll never quit supporting them.