Wildlife lover! Are you aware that over the past decade, the illegal wildlife trade in Trinidad and Tobago has grown substantially, both in volume and species diversity. Causes include: a growing middle-class, the economic crisis in Venezuela, and poor governmental regulation. Illegally traded species include a variety of birds (e.g., parrots, finches, macaws), fish (e.g., arapaima, silver arowana, zebra fish), mammals (e.g., capuchins, ocelots, otters), and reptiles (e.g., crocodilians, turtles, snakes).

Do you share the concern of growing threats of the illegal pet trade in wild animals? And/or,

Do you envision a Trinidad and Tobago in which all wild animals and pets are respected, protected, and treated with kindness? 

If yes to either or both, then, you would be interested in the “Nurturing Nature TT (NNTT)” campaign! This campaign is one designed to promote greater knowledge of the illegal wildlife trade, inform opinions on wild animal care and protection, and change behaviors towards more ethical pet-keeping that can impact supply and demand of trafficked wild animals.

The campaign is being directed by two NGOs - CRESTT and SII - and co-implemented with the support of a coalition of ten (10) local NGOs, including Environment Tobago. On Feb. 2-4,  a wide-range of creative, resourceful, inspiring, and experienced partners of the coalition met for the first time in a three-day workshop to explore how we might work together to change the situation for pet wild animals in T&T and also how to design social marketing solutions to improve the welfare and conservation of pet wild animals in Trinidad and Tobago. Besides Environment Tobago, other partner NGOs included: 

• Animals 360 Foundation, 

• Animal Welfare Network, 

• The Trinidad & Tobago Veterinary Association, 

• The Veterinary Students' Association of Trinidad and Tobago (VSATT), 

• Sustainable Innovation Initiatives, 

• The Centre for the Rescue of Endangered Species of Trinidad and Tobago (CRESTT), Trinidad & Tobago Field Naturalists' Club, 

• The El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation, 

• TTSPCA - Port of Spain Shelter, Animals Alive, and 

• Corbin Local Wildlife Park.

Barry Lovelace, Education Coordinator, represented Environment Tobago at this first workshop, in which, the renowned Dr. Diogo Verissimo of Oxford University, a world leader in the design of behavior change campaigns for conservation engaged in a range of activities to consider how people come to own wild animals as pets, as well as how we might get them to engage in new behaviors, like taking better care of their pets or choosing other animals that might be easier to keep and enjoy.

Coming out of this workshop the Environment Tobago team now look forward to a rich and fruitful partnership with CREST and the other stakeholders of the coalition as we continue to refine a Memorandum of Understanding of how we can work together to the benefit of our wildlife and pets. Join the campaign!