Use Movies to Teach Africans to Protect Wildlife!

The Issue • Our closest relatives are nearer to extinction than ever before, and it is possible that some great ape subspecies will be driven to extinction within decades if significant measures are not taken to stop these threats. An estimated 3,000 great apes are lost every year due to wildlife smuggling, and millions of acres of their forest habitat disappear every month. The horrific and rapidly growing bushmeat trade is now considered the most significant danger to the future of Africa’s wildlife. For every baby ape who is rescued, up to ten are slaughtered. Entire families of chimpanzees, gorillas, and monkeys are routinely shot down to be butchered and sold in markets. Some animals are smuggled to the Middle East or China to spend their lives in small cages as exotic pets or tourist attractions.

A root cause of these problems is a pervasive lack of awareness among the people of Africa about animal welfare and conservation. Many are unaware that the hunting and consumption of wildlife is robbing Africa of its natural heritage and that many species are alarmingly close to extinction. Huge tracts of land are granted to logging and mining companies, and the palm oil industry, which has devastated so much orangutan habitat in Asia, is now destroying vital habitat in Africa. However, the general public largely does not realize that the current rate of habitat loss will soon leave Africa without enough forest to sustain some wildlife populations. In order to save great ape species from extinction, there is an urgent need for widespread humane education, which is the goal of the Ajani Edutainment Films Program.

The Program • The goal of the program is to educate millions of people in ten African nations about the consequences of their behaviors, in order to change their current and/or future actions in ways that reduce their negative impact on great apes and their habitat. The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance is collaborating with our 22 member organizations across Africa and several filmmakers to distribute films that are highly entertaining and engaging and contain messaging about wildlife conservation that targets people of Africa. The use of films that the public enjoys and is enthusiastic to watch will enable the program to reach millions of Africans and will help the viewers to retain the films’ messages for the long term.

Dear Primate Supporter,

Although great apes are humans’ closest genetic kin, humans have pushed them to the brink of extinction. It’s estimated that 3,000 apes are lost from the wild every year, largely due to the illegal hunting of endangered species, the illicit wildlife trade, and widespread habitat loss.

Will we let the great apes become extinct in our lifetime? As primate advocates, we can’t allow it. With your help sharing our message, they do have a chance.

PASA is working closely with our 22 member wildlife centers in 13 African countries to implement diverse projects to protect primates and their habitat. One of our most pioneering projects involves using high-quality, entertaining movies that have messages of wildlife protection. Last month, one of our member organizations in Cameroon arranged for the videos to be shown on national television to hundreds of thousands of people. Now we want to build on this success and distribute them across Africa. But we need your support to do it.

Bo is an adorable baby chimpanzee in Guinea-Bissau who was illegally stolen from the forest last year. The law authorities confiscated little Bo but they don’t have facilities to take care of her. She’s now living in a national park office and eating whatever people happen to feed her.

Bo urgently needs to be moved to a proper sanctuary and PASA and Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya are working to arrange an export permit. We hope that soon, Bo will spend the rest of her days living in a huge forest habitat with dozens of other chimps.

As a registered nonprofit in the U.S. with close partnerships with wildlife protection organizations across Africa, PASA provides a trusted way to ensure your donations go where they are most urgently needed and are used as efficiently as possible.

Thank you for your compassion.

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