Large carnivores need your help
Become a friend of large carnivores!
Wolves, lynx and bears are slowly finding their way back to the Czech mountains. However, the recovery of their populations is not an easy process, the most serious threat being illegal hunting – poaching. A considerable habitat fragmentation and the presence of many barriers preventing the migration of large carnivores also pose major problems. These threats have increased significantly over the last decades.
Hnutí DUHA (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic) – our projects
Hnutí DUHA Olomouc – local organization of Friends of the Earth Czech Republic (FoE CZ) – has been involved in the protection of large carnivores since 2002. Many of our projects have been supported by Czech and international foundations, as well as the Czech Ministry of Environment who recognized the importance and high quality of our work.
Dependence on big donors makes our long-term work complicated, though, because it means uncertainty about the continuation of our efforts when the projects finish. Therefore, we aim to strengthen the share of small, individual donations that make our project healthier. Please consider making a donation right now
Our achievements
Forest patrols
Over 150 volunteers are involved in our “Wolf Patrols” each year. They carry out field monitoring of large carnivores which improves our knowledge of large carnivores’ distribution, their habits and ecology, and also helps to reduce the risk of poaching. For instance, the number of illegal baits used by hunters to attract carnivores has significantly decreased during the years thanks to the intensive monitoring and reporting.
Safer wildlife corridors
Participating in decision-making processes and scrutinising the work of local authorities are necessary activities in order to prevent the realization of projects harmful to environment or to minimize their impact. For example, two new underpasses for wildlife were included in the modernization of the international railway in the Jablunkov thanks to FoE CZ and other NGOs involved in the process.
Volunteers interested in the monitoring of large carnivores help to obtain data on the occurrence of large carnivores. Such evidence allows us to effectively argue the case for the importance of landscape permeability in specific locations. Our efforts contribute to safer migration of large mammals, including wolves, lynx and bears, between their habitats.
Awareness-raising activities
Every year, we organize a number of presentations and events for schools, stakeholders (hunters, livestock farmers) and local communities. Our aim is to spread objective, factual information on large carnivores to as many people as possible. We organize information meetings and coordinate our activities with other parties in order to enhance communication between local people, conservationists, government institutions and other important players in nature conservation. We also focus on changing the centuries old prejudices and unfounded fears of large carnivores.
Meaningful and necessary work
The activities of the FoE CZ are important for the conservation and long-term occurrence of large carnivores in the Czech Republic. Many experts support our work and we closely cooperate with the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic. However, we are a non-profit organization and to continue our work we need your help. Your financial support will allow us to train new volunteers, purchase equipment such as camera traps or snow shoes, produce information materials etc.
Please consider making a donation to our project for the conservation of rare and endangered species of large carnivores in the Czech Republic.
Whether you decide to support us on a regular basis or just make one-off contribution, your help will be greatly appreciated. Please use our Donation form or contact us at pratele@selmy.cz.
