Dear Friends,
As the world begins a careful dance with venturing out of our isolation, I hope this message finds you, your family and friends in good physical, mental and spiritual health. Please be careful and stay healthy, first and foremost.
Impacts of COVID-19 on our lives have been unprecedented. However, the role that the illegal wildlife trade and the spread of zoonotic diseases has played in this and other pandemics is well known. And of this we can be sure – if the global community genuinely wants to stop future scenarios like what we’ve just experienced, then we need a robust and collaborative conservation imperative that puts global resources behind both of these issues. It’s that simple.
This #GivingTuesdayNow, we are asking that you please consider supporting our Veterinary Disease and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory so that it may continue to run at full capacity . Specifically, we need your help this to support our Senior Laboratory Technician Angela Makuvise, and for supplies and equipment upon which the lab depends in our efforts to understand and stop the spread of zoonotic diseases and combat the illegal wildlife trade.
Our lab is the only one in the region that is working on these issues . As with nearly everyone, VFWT is experiencing significant funding challenges as tourism, corporate sponsorships, events, and some foundation portfolios vanished overnight. It’s having a catastrophic impact on wildlife and communities whose livelihoods depend on these things. We’re the first sentinels of a potential pandemic and our work must continue.
For more information on how we combat the illegal wildlife trade through forensic science, or our on the ground zoonotic disease research here in Africa, please reach out to us for our 2019 Year-End Report that documents some of this ground-breaking work.
Thank you for considering our plea for help, especially now during these tentative times. Please join us in our efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade and stop the spread of zoonotic diseases. If we all give a little bit, there will be more than enough. And with that, I promise you – our work will continue.
Please remember, you’re never far from our thoughts and that we sincerely hope that any hardships you face are not overwhelming. Thank you, for everything.
For Wild Africa,
Jessica Dawson
Executive Director
Captions & Photo Credits. Top (left to right): rhino skulls from poached animals (VFWT); confiscated pangolin scales (BBC.com/EPA); confiscated elephant ivory (BBC.com/EPA). Side (top to bottom): Drawing blood from elephant for wellness check and DNA collection; Senior Lab Technicial Angela Makuvise; wildlife crime scene training; cyanide field tests for identifying poison scenes; Dr. Chris Foggin our wildlife veterinarian who oversees our zoonotic diseases program, among other things.
