12 surprising facts about animal welfare and conservation

At IFAW, we're working to break every link in the ivory trade chain, from poaching to trafficking to demand. We've been conducting ivory demand reduction campaigns in China since 2007 and were instrumental in getting China to shut down its domestic ivory market with the banning of commercial ivory processing and sales.

We also successfully pushed for elephants and all other species targeted in the ivory trade to be protected under Appendix I of CITES. In France, we launched the 'I'm Surrendering My Ivory' campaign, leading to hundreds of pieces of ivory being surrendered or seized by IFAW in 2016. In November 2023, we also organised a large-scale ivory destruction operation in collaboration with the OFB. We've also led ivory surrendering campaigns in the US and UK.

6. Many governments engage in practices that can be considered inhumane for animals.

National governments around the world engage in and condone practices that can be incredibly cruel to animals and are often completely unnecessary, such as commercial whaling being allowed in Iceland, Japan, and Norway. Here are just a few examples.

United States

Claiming it prevents conflict with livestock and people, the US government killed more than 375,000 native animals in 2023. The US Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services targets wolves, coyotes, cougars, birds, as well as other wild animals to benefit the agricultural industry.

The federal wildlife-killing program's data reveals that in 2023, they intentionally killed 305 grey wolves, 68,562 coyotes, 430 black bears, 235 mountain lions, 469 bobcats, 2,122 red and grey foxes, and 24,603 beavers. In the same year, they reported unintentionally killing almost 2,500 animals, including 658 river otters and 428 turtles, a federally-protected golden eagle, as well as cats and dogs.

It's estimated that the actual figures for the number of wild animals exterminated by this agency are in fact much higher than those reported. It has also been accused of abuses, including instances of animal cruelty and accidental killing of endangered species due to indiscriminate killing practices. Research has shown such culling tactics to be ineffective and based on false portrayals of wildlife as threats.

IFAW has worked to end the inhumane killing of animals by banning M-44 cyanide ejectors, known as 'cyanide bombs', in the US.

Canada

The Canadian government allows the use of the deadly chemical Compound 1080 to control wolf, bear, and coyote populations in Alberta. The indiscriminate use of these poisons leads to wildlife (including non-target species) and dogs ingesting the compounds and suffering incredibly painful and inhumane deaths.

While our work with Canadian MP Len Webber helped end the use of sodium cyanide in 2021 and our letters to the Canadian government led to a ban on strychnine in 2023, we continue to engage with the Government of Canada to end the use of all cruel poisons that cause wildlife to suffer.

Canada's ongoing commercial seal hunt is still taking place in 2025. Originally put in place to protect cod populations from harp seals, despite there being no evidence that harp seals negatively impact cod populations, the commercial seal hunt is an extraordinarily cruel practice that has no scientific justification.

IFAW was founded in 1969 with the mission of ending the commercial seal hunt. We continue encouraging Canada to follow scientific evidence rather than give in to pressure from fisheries, who incorrectly blame seals for declining fish populations.

7. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing depletes fish stocks and harms the marine environment through overfishing.

Up to 26 million tons of IUU fish are caught each year, valued at US $10 to $23 billion. IUU fishing practices-also known as pirate fishing-damage the seabed and smother coral reefs. They also result in bycatch of unwanted fish and marine animals, such as endangered dolphins, whales, sharks, and sea turtles.

IFAW has worked to protect sharks and rays from trade through advocacy and trainings to help officials identify illegally traded species. In the Bay of Biscay in France, we've successfully advocated for fishing closures, which have helped prevent bycatch of dolphins. In Kenya, we've been working with communities to prevent illegal fishing, develop sustainable livelihoods, and protect marine life.

8. Underwater noise pollution has reduced the distance across which blue whales can communicate by 90%.

The dramatic increase in underwater noise pollution due to ships and other vessels has harmed marine animals, many of which depend on sound to find food, communicate, and navigate. Blue whales could once communicate across thousands of miles. Now, that distance has fallen by 90%.