By Elisabeth Gish | Project Leader
In the first 9 months of 2021, the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team already:
WRRT activities and results in 2021 have been affected by the pandemic and its side-effects in a few ways. Cambodia’s illegal wildlife trade has been quieter this year than last, likely due to reduced demand as many shops/markets in tourist hotspots have closed, periodic closures of overland borders, and the pandemic itself increasing awareness of the human health risks posed by wildlife consumption. Another major factor is that government measures to stem the spread of COVID-19 prevented travel by the mobile team for much of this period. Despite these significant challenges, the WRRT conducted only 10% fewer operations in the first three quarters of 2021 versus 2020.
With restrictions finally beginning to ease in Cambodia, WRRT carried out two successful big busts (featured in our last report) during a single mission to the Southwest provinces in September, and in October the team has been back on the road investigating leads and cracking down on the illegal trade. So much of this work is based on tip-offs from our network of undercover informants, who are paid a fee for reliable information that leads to a successful bust. Your generous donations over the past year provided vital funding for informant fees and the salaries of the Royal Gendarmerie officers who give the Team its law enforcement authority – helping us to hold traders accountable for their crimes against wildlife.
Our year-end fundraising goal is to raise $4,800 for officers’ salaries. If you plan to support us during this season, please consider making a donation on GivingTuesday – all donations of up to $2,500 made November 30 (from 00:01AM-11:59PM EST) will be matched from GlobalGiving’s $1Million Matching Fund!! Thank you so much for your support.
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