Campaign for 'Animal Relief'

A campaign has been launched to urge the BBC to hold an 'Animal Relief' event just like Comic or Sports Relief.

Barbara Nock, a trustee at Willows Animal Sanctuary in Scotland, told me why she decided to launch the campaign and why it is so important to all of us.

"With 10 million UK pet owners, a vast percentage keeping them as companions thus making them family members, as licence payers it would be fair to redress this imbalance by adding a third event in support of our non-human relatives, be it animal sanctuaries or others caring for animals, unwanted or abused pets, ex-race dogs, ex-race horses, unwanted farm animals, injured wildlife and more. We need our country to show we care by supporting this."

Barbara funds the care of around 300 unwanted animals and other charities and believes a country wide campaign was needed to help support the continual assistance given to these vulnerable animals.

The BBC has so far replied that they have to remain biased and cannot distribute funds but Barbara and her supporters are not giving up.

In addition to a successful ongoing campaign on social networking giant Facebook, Nock has also written many letters to companies in support of animal welfare including The Body Shop, Viva and PDSA to raise awareness of the campaign.

If you would like more information contact campaignbbcforanimalrelief@googlemail.com or joing the campaign on facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=108673725833441&v

The Year of the Tiger

The WWF have outlined their plans to make this year a good year for Tigers beginning with the launch of their new campaign.

The WWF, formally the World Wildlife Fund, raises awareness for all kinds of environmental and conservational issues affecting the natural world.

Their campaign is being launched to coincide with the Chinese year of the tiger and will hopefully help to reach their goal of doubling the world's tiger population by 2022 (the next year of the tiger). The WWF are working with world leaders in order to ensure the protection of the species and a global tiger summit will be held in Vladivostok in September this year where this goal will be the main focal point.

The WWF have released an interactive map in advance of the campaign launch which outlines the top ten dangers currently facing tiger's. Forest devastation, poaching and trafficking of tiger bones and skin are being named as some of the main reasons why the global population of wild tigers has dropped from 100,000 at the start of the 20th Century to as low as 3,200 at present. Climate change is also believed to be becoming more of a threat as it is damaging to tiger's habitats.

Head of species at WWF-UK, Diane Walkington, says "Since the last year of the tiger in 1998, tigers have lost 40 percent of their habitat. She continues "Tigers are being persecuted across the globe. They are being poisoned, trapped, snared, shot and squeezed out their homes."

Diane believes the new campaign will really help make a difference. "With 13 countries where wild tigers survive now pledging that they will work towards doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022, there has never been such an ambitious, high-level of commitment from governments to work to save this iconic species".