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1st day of the month – £1 donation for wildlife 🙂
APR 30READ IN APP
These £1 donation days are vital to keeping Protect the Wild moving forward. We are not funded by corporations and we do not rely on large grants. Everything we do is made possible by ordinary people choosing to give small amounts because they care.
Every single pound has a real impact. It keeps our investigations going, strengthens our campaigns, and helps us continue the fight for British wildlife.
April has been very busy and I want to tell you exactly what your support has made possible.
We kicked off the month with our animationcalling for an end to the Guga hunt, narrated by actor Brian Cox, which has now been viewed over 12 million times. Twelve million people have seen the case for ending this hunt, and it resulted in tens of thousands adding their name to the petition calling on NatureScot to stop licensing the annual slaughter. We’re now so close to 160,000 so please add your name if you haven’t already.
Off the back of that, I took an opportunity to raise awareness for the campaign. I announced my candidacy for the Scottish Parliament – dressed as a giant Gannet. It sounds absurd. But it has been picked up by every major Scottish media outlet, multiple national print pieces, and earned a 30-second segment on Have I Got News For You, one of the most watched shows on British television. The story of the Guga hunt is now impossible to ignore.
And I have not stopped there. I attempted to gatecrash the Scottish Conservative manifesto launch as part of the campaign, and took part in a BBC hustings debate keeping the spotlight on the issue heading into the Scottish election.
On the campaign to end hunting with hounds, we launched a new tool allowing supporters to respond to the Government’s consultation on banning trail hunting in just 15 seconds and a single click. In just a couple of weeks, over 20,000 of you have used it. That is 20,000 voices the Government cannot ignore.
Our investigations have continued to cut through too. We published findings revealing that Polar Bears International – an organisation supposedly dedicated to protecting polar bears – is in fact comfortable with them being hunted and killed. A week later, we released a damning investigation into just how much taxpayer money has been spent on NatureScot’s handling of the Guga huntthis year alone.
We also launched a new national campaign to end bird netting, logging and mapping incidents of birds trapped and killed in nets right across the UK. This is the beginning of something significant, and in the months ahead there will be real, direct ways for you to get involved.
And in recent days we’ve had cause to celebrate. Network Rail has agreed to reopen swift nesting holes at their viaduct in Derbyshire, following months of tireless campaigning by locals and over 14,000 of you signing our petition. The BBC covered the good news, and Network Rail themselves acknowledged how much they have learned from it. Another life-saving win.
And the last week of April saw the release of two more animations.
The first exposed how bird shooting is factory farming, narrated by the brilliant Dr Amir Khan. It has since been viewed by millions, and over 15,000 people have joined our End Bird Shooting campaign on Substack. We have huge things coming on this front next month, so watch this space.
The second was a tribute to Eunice the sheep, brutally killed by two individuals using fireworks. As her story continues to be heard, we are shining a light on the dangers of fireworks and pushing for a ban on their sale to the public. An incredible 35 million people have now seen the film.
All of this happened in April. One month. And today, I am asking for something simple.
On the first of each month, we run a £1 fundraising day because when thousands of people give a small amount, it powers everything you have just read. In 2025 alone, these £1 donation days raised over £25,000.
So if you can, please give just £1 today.
RJ Hamster 