The Endangered Wildlife Trust
The EWT fills the key niche of on-the-ground conservation action. Our specialist programmes and large team of skilled field staff are deployed throughout southern Africa and focus on applied fieldwork, research and direct engagement with stakeholders. Our work supports the conservation of species and ecosystems and recognises the role that communities play in successful conservation programmes.
We focus on identifying the key factors threatening biodiversity and develop mitigating measures to reduce these. Through a broad spectrum of partnerships and networks, we develop innovative methodologies and best practice guidelines that help to reduce negative environmental impacts and promote harmonious co-existence and sustainable living for both people and wildlife.
Programmes & partnerships
Our dedicated, specialist programmes collectively co-ordinate around 80 projects throughout southern Africa. These programmes focus on specific issues, species and ecosystems ranging from conserving wetlands and grasslands to addressing the irresponsible use of poisons and agro-chemicals to protecting the last remaining Blue Swallows that breed in South Africa.
We also work extensively with partners, turning stakeholders into supporters and colleagues. Farmers, organisations such as South African national electricity utility, Eskom, and the Airports Company of South Africa, as well as communities and developers are learning that the best solution for the environment is also the best long-term solution for people.
What does this mean for you?
Without a healthy environment, a healthy life is impossible. So when the plight of wildlife draws attention to polluted water, solving the problem benefits not only the wildlife, but also the people who share the water. The same goes for everything that affects us. For example, poisoning and persecuting bats removes a crucial pest controller as well as an important plant pollinator. Without bats, crop failure and heavy pesticide loads would increase, raising food prices and damaging our health. Without healthy grasslands, our agricultural industry would become degraded and our ability to produce food for export and for consumption by all South Africans would be compromised.
Our history
In 1973, Clive Walker was inspired to paint a watercolour of a Cheetah, to sell 250 signed, numbered copies, and to use this money to help conserve the Cheetah that was, and in some places still is, shot as vermin. This initiative was so successful that Clive, together with businessman Neville Anderson and James Clarke of the Johannesburg newspaper The Star, registered the Endangered Wildlife Trust as an NGO, focusing on endangered and threatened animals and began to raise funds from an office based out of Clive’s garage!
The first three projects to carry the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s logo focused on cheetahs, brown hyaenas and vultures. These projects dealt with population monitoring and human-wildlife conflict, issues still topical today. Thus from the word go, the EWT was all about action for biodiversity conservation and the founding vision of saving threatened species in a direct, hands-on way and at minimal cost has never been lost. It has however been broadened to include species, their habitats and ecosystems and the role of surrounding communities and landowners.
As Clive puts it: "If the universal slogan was 'Who cares about rhino anyway?' we would be a short step away from applying that mindless slogan to ourselves."
The Animal Welfare Society Port Elizabeth
AWS is governed by a Constitution, which specifies the legal position, objectives, powers and the construction of the Society, as well as other details relevant to the running of the Society. This Constitution can be referred to in order to clarify the position of the Society regarding its independence.
As an open shelter, AWS is the only animal society in Port Elizabeth which operates as a pound, offering a safe place for all kinds of unwanted, lost or abandoned animals. At our shelter in Victoria Drive, Walmer, we run catteries, kennels and also have facilities for livestock such as donkeys, horses, cattle, goats, and sheep; and other animals and birds. We have accepted any animal brought to our door, and also run a 24-hour service to deal with the many cases of cruelty and neglect which are reported to us. We also provide a much-needed facility in terms of an animal crematorium which is a direct benefit to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in terms of reducing landfill costs. We employ three full-time inspectors and our entire staff complement is 27, although we are privileged to enjoy the help of volunteers too.
AWS was founded in 1971 and as a registered NPO, AWS also accepts the “Codes of Good Practice for South African Non-profit Organisations” as recommended by the Department of Social Development. We are in possession of a current Tax Clearance Certificate, audited financials, Annual General Meeting Minutes and our NPO status is in good standing. The need for such a society arose from the difficulty that the municipality in Port Elizabeth was experiencing in coping adequately with the number of stray animals and cruelty cases in the city.
The cost to provide ongoing primary health care in terms of dipping, innoculation, de-worming and sterilisation has eaten into much of our limited savings. We believe that primary health care for animals, particularly those in disadvantaged areas, is of direct benefit to the owners of those animals and the broader community in which they live. Sick animals pose a real threat to the health and welfare of the human component of our community.
Born Free Foundation
From small beginnings, the Born Free Foundation has grown into a global force for wildlife. But a personal passion for wild animals and a desire for positive change remain at our heart. Described by The Times as ‘Big enough to make a difference, but small enough to care,’ Born Free is not a big anonymous organisation, but a family of like-minded people who share the same goals. Our work to prevent individual animal suffering, protect threatened species and keep wildlife in the wild sets us apart from the rest.
This is why Born Free is supported by celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Martin Clunes, Bryan Adams, Rachel Hunter, Helen Worth, Jenny Seagrove and Martin Shaw. Together we reach out to the public, the media and our business friends, who actively support and fund our projects and campaigns, helping hundreds of thousands of animals worldwide.
Rescue and Care
Born Free never forgets the individual. Every animal counts. Our emergency teams rescue vulnerable animals from appalling lives of misery in tiny cages and give them lifetime care at spacious sanctuaries. Born Free also saves orphaned big cats, great apes and elephants and provides their food and care.
Conservation and education
As human populations expand, wildlife comes under increasing threat. Born Free is determined to try to halt the race to extinction by protecting rare species in their natural habitat. Working with local communities, we find compassionate solutions so people and wildlife can live together. Educational activities inspire young and old alike to respect the wild.
Our campaigning spirit
Our high-profile campaigns take effective action and provide animals with a voice. We capture the public imagination, change attitudes, inform and persuade decision-makers, and get results. Whether its fighting the ivory trade and ‘sport’ hunting, opposing killing wild animals for ‘bushmeat’, or challenging the exploitation of wild animals in zoos and circuses, Born Free takes action on the front line for animals.
Programmes and projects
Our major international projects are devoted to animal welfare, conservation and education, and protect lions, elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, tigers, polar bears, wolves, dolphins, turtles, sharks and lots more. Through our Global Initiatives project, we respond to emergency situations worldwide, participate in international coalitions such as the Species Survival Network, run the People & Wildlife project with Oxford University’s WildCru* department, and much much more.
