THE KILLING FIELDS OF THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the organisation behind this month's corporate-driven 'Earth Hour', has a dismal and largely ignored history of supporting the slaughter of animals. This has included support for 'big game hunting', sealing and the trade in elephant ivory.

The WWF hides its support for hunting and trapping behind such 'green' terms as 'sustainable development'. It believes that hunting and trapping can be part of a plan to maintain 'sustainable' animal populations.

Publicly however, the WWF will not admit that it supports such activities but, significantly, refuses to condemn them despite repeated requests by animal rights organisations.

The WWF supports the annual slaughter of Canadian seals in the Arctic Circle. Yet again, it is an issue it refuses to front up about.

WWF Canada once commented: “WWF is not an animal welfare organization. We support the hunting and consumption of wild animals provided the harvesting does not threaten the long-term survival of wildlife populations. WWF has never opposed a sustainable seal hunt in northern or eastern Canada.”

On its website the WWF states:

'WWF is not opposed to the annual harvest of harp seals off the east coast of Canada, provided the hunt takes place within a safe conservation regime. A "sustainable" harvest is one where an overall healthy population is either maintained or allowed to increase over the long run.'

But the slaughter of millions of seals -the biggest slaughter of marine mammals in the world - is, not by any stretch of the imagination, a 'sustainable harvest'. Once again, the WWF is playing fast and loose with the facts.

Even on the controversial issue of whaling the WWF's policy is less than convincing. While it opposes commercial whaling it does support the killing of whiles by native tribes and under 'certain circumstances'.

The WWF's endgame is to support the 'sustainable' killing of whales under strict 'international control'. The WWF thinks this is a 'better' alternative than 'unsustainable' whaling by various national governments.

The WWF is also not opposed to the slaughter of elephants - just to what it calls the 'over-havesting' of these magnificent animals.

It supports the 'culling' of elephants- and the trade in ivory - because, it says, the profits that are derived from the trade in ivory will encourage governments to keep elephants from going extinct. It is a corporate profit-driven approach to animal welfare.

But as the People for the Ethical Treament of Animals (PETA) have commented: 'The WWF’s bizarre view-that we must kill some animals now in order to save animals later—has proved false time and again. The trade in ivory has only encouraged rampant poaching, the senseless slaughter of elephants.'

THE WWF continues to duck this issue and, once again, will not defend its position publicly.

THE WWF tries hard to “greenwash” its support of animal slaughter. Behind such glib and reassuring phrases as 'sustainable development' and 'ecological balance' what the WWF is really advocating is more organised and efficient 'killing fields'.