Shalford based wildlife conservation charity, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) celebrates 30 years of saving endangered wildlife this year. Founded in 1984 by internationally renowned wildlife artist and conservationist David Shepherd CBE, the Foundation has sent over £6.5 million to the frontline of wildlife conservation. This has been in aid of anti-poaching, conservation, education, outreach and undercover investigation programmes that protect the tiger, elephant, rhino, painted dog, snow leopard and moon bear. The small but dedicated team works above the Foundation’s shop in Surrey to raise money and awareness to help save endangered species.
“We may be small but we pack a punch,” says DSWF CEO, Sally Case.
The Foundation very much has its roots in anti-poaching and park protection; two areas that have traditionally been hard to fund but are vital in today’s war on wildlife crime. However, DSWF has notched up some impressive successes over the past 30 years.
“We are the sole NGO funder of an ambitious and dangerous undercover operation to find and convict one of the world’s most notorious illegal wildlife traffickers. With his deputy behind bars the investigation to find the kingpin and to dismantle his syndicate continues. That the US Government has put a $1,000,000 price tag on his head highlights the worldwide significance of this work.”
With wildlife crime now worth an estimated $19 billion a year, the fight to close down trafficking networks has to be seen as a priority as Sally goes on to explain,
“Old traditions and new money in the Far East are driving a rapacious demand for wildlife products. In 2013 over 1,000 rhino were killed for their horn in South Africa alone and we continue to lose an elephant every 15 minutes to ivory poachers. The world seems to be waking up to this crisis and that is extremely positive but our job is to maintain the interest, maintain the passion and maintain the funding long after the world’s media has turned its lens away from the global forums led by heads of state.”
Passion is something that is never in short supply at DSWF. Founded by the wildlife artist turned conservationist, David Shepherd CBE (the CBE awarded in 2009 for his services to wildlife conservation) at 83 he is still very much leading the fight to save the animals that he loves.
“I launched the Foundation in 1984 to help give something back to the animals that helped give me so much success as an artist. We have fought hard, often against the odds, and won some serious conservation battles including saving the Amur tiger from certain extinction when numbers dropped to about 100 in the 1990s. Today there is a stable population of about 450 Amur tigers but we have to keep fighting to protect them and their habitat.”
But what of the elephants that so many associate David Shepherd with? His ‘Wise Old Elephant’ graced the wall of the Peckham flat in Only Fools and Horses and his prints sold by the thousands throughout the 1970s and 80s.
“I love elephants, they are the most amazing, sentient creatures and to see their numbers being decimated by poachers simply breaks my heart,” he says.
The Foundation established the first elephant orphanage in Zambia, a country they have supported conservation in for a long-time in. This conservation centre has been established to help rescue, rehabilitate and return to the wild the victims of the illegal ivory trade and symbolises both hope for the future of the orphaned elephants but also a growing problem. The orphanage recently featured on the ITV1 series, Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans, which gave it some well-needed publicity.
“As long as there are poachers there will be a need to run projects like the elephant orphanage,” explains CEO Sally Case. “But the orphanage does not exist in isolation. It is part of a larger project that includes education, community outreach and park protection programmes that help raise awareness of the issues, provide alternative livelihoods and ensure that wild habitats are safe for the animals to be released back into.
“Conservation is never as simple as keeping animals alive. It’s about working with the communities that share an animal’s landscape to ensure as harmonious and as sustainable a future for everyone involved. And that is what is at the heart of the projects that DSWF funds.”
Relating the survival of elephants and tigers to life in Surrey (or anywhere in the UK) isn’t always easy says David Shepherd.
“What’s important to realise is that the loss of these apex animals is critical to the health of the whole planet. Elephants are known as the architects of their landscapes and wider biodiversity and tigers, and other top carnivores, play a crucial role in maintaining a perfect balance of the animals and landscapes they inhabit. What we also need to understand is that man is responsible for the current crisis and that it is man who must act to reverse it.”
With a strong and loyal supporter base, DSWF is keen to expand its message and to increase funding for vital conservation projects around the world. One way that the Foundation is doing this is through TigerTime, a campaign to save the tiger in the wild that was launched on David’s 80th birthday in 2011. There is already a huge global following through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (handle @TigerTimeNow). Add to this success a host of tiger loving celebrity supporters like Ricky Gervais, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Pamela Anderson, Naomi Harris, Sir Paul McCartney and Deborah Meaden (the list goes on and on) and you have a campaign with some punch.
“We’re very proud of what we achieve with such a small team,” says CEO Sally Case. “Of course, it would be wonderful to have more staff but our aim is to ensure that 100% of donations to specific projects goes in full, with no administration costs removed, to where it is needed most; to the front line of wildlife conservation.”
The Foundation raises funds and awareness in a number of ways and, with an artist founder, there is still a strong connection with wildlife art. Each year DSWF runs its Wildlife Artist of the Year competition that generates hundreds of entries vying for the £10,000 sponsored top prize and for a space at the exhibition at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London. In 2014, the exhibition runs from June 2-8 and will help generate thousands of pounds for conservation. Art also forms the mainstay of the DSWF Gallery in Shalford, Surrey.
“There aren’t many places where you can buy fabulous art and sculpture, delicious handmade chocolate and gorgeous gifts and help save wildlife in the process,” adds Sally Case.
So, the next time you are in Shalford and wonder what goes on in the DSWF Gallery and the offices above, you’ll know that there’s a very small and dedicated team working to save some of the most iconic species on the planet and they’d be delighted to see you.