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Wild Animals are not Pets CampaigningwithRoots&ShootsinArgentina

Inmanycountriesaroundtheworld,demandforexoticpetsisakeydriverbehindtheillegaltradeinwildlife.ThisisthecaseinArgentinawherepurchasingnative,andoftenendangered,wildlifeisincreasinglypopular.Notonlyareat-riskspeciestraffickeddomestically,theyaresoldtoothercountriesaswell,pushingmorethan50speciesofmammalsandbirdstothebrinkofextinction,nottomentionthesteadylossinbiodiversity.

However,thoughwildanimalpopulationsaredwindling,manypeopleareunawareoftheissue.InresponseJGIArgentinalaunchedacampaignin2017toendthelocalexoticpettrade.Throughtheirefforts,theArgentinaofficehasworkedcloselywithteachers,communitymembersandstudents,toraiseawarenessabouttheimportantdifferencebetweendomesticatedanimalsthataresuitableaspetsandwildanimalsthatarenot.

Educatorshavesupportedthecampaign,extendingthemessagetotheirstudents.Youngpeople,inturn,havespreadthemessageevenfurther.Hundredsofstudentsenthusiasticallyjoinedthe“AnimalParade”inBuenosAiresasacelebrationofbiodiversityandtodrawattentiontotheproblemofpoachingwildlifeforthepettrade.BuenosAiresisthecentreofillegalwildlifetradingandfourofthemosttrafficked,andveryspecial,localspecieswereshowcasedasambassadorsforthecampaign:thetortoise,toucan,howlermonkeyandyellowcardinal.ChildrenfromlocalschoolsandJaneGoodall’sRoots&Shootsgroupsmadecostumeswithrecycledmaterialsanddressedupasoneofthefouranimals.

Intheircolourfulcostumesandmasks,theparadewasfestiveandfun,reachingover2,000peopleattheevent.Atthesametime,studentsalsostartedtounderstandforthemselvestheveryrealthreatsfacedbytheanimalstheyrepresentedandtheurgentneedforconservation.Someofthechildren,suchasthepre-schoolRoots&Shootsgroup“TheJaguarExplorers”(“Losexploradoresyaguaretés”),evengottheirfamiliesinvolved.

JaneGoodallwasonhandtojointheparade,encouragingeveryonetosharehervisionforaworldwherewecanlivemoreharmoniouslywithnature.Andlocalcelebritiesalsogotinvolved,

makingavideotocapturepeople’sattentionandspreadawareness.

JGIArgentina’scampaignisstillgoingstrong.Thisyear,childrenhavebeenmakingpostersandvideosaboutthethreatsthatjaguarsfacefrompoaching.

15schoolsandnearly700youthhavebeeninvolvedinJGIArgentina’scampaignandhelpedspreadthemessagetotheirfamily,friendsandthepublic.Withmanyoftheyoungpeoplehavingonceownedwildanimalsaspets,thiscampaignhithomewithimmediateimpact.

• Livetraffickingofwildlifecausesimmensesufferingtoanimalsduringthehuntanddur-ingtheirclandestinejourneytotheirdestination.Theyareoftenhandledinappropriatelyandmaysufferterribleconditionsintransportationandcaptivity.Manyanimalsdieenroute.

• Allsortsofanimalsaretraffickedfortheexoticpetmarketandtherearemarketsallovertheworld.Reptilesandamphibians,includingvulnerablespecies,aretraffickedinthegreatestnumbers.AccordingtoTRAFFIC,morethan6040Indianstartortoiseswereseizedgloballyin2017.Birdsarealsowidelytraffickedaspets.

• Demandforexoticpetsisadriverofwildlifetrafficking.Withprotectedspeciesopenlytraded,egonsocialmedia,buyersmaybeunawarethattheirinterestinanimalsisfund-ingcrime,crueltyandenvironmentaldamage.

• Peoplewhoseesuspiciousadvertsforexoticpetsonsocialmediashouldreportthistothecompanyusingtheplatform’sreportingtools,egFacebookreporting