MAY 20, 2025 – BOSTON, MA — Last week, animal welfare and environmental organizations around the world celebrated Endangered Species Day. In fact, protection for imperiled animals and plants is such a popular issue that the month of May is Endangered Species Month.  In the U.S., the landmark legislation to protects these species, the Endangered Species Act, has an approval rating that remains high over 80% of American voters.

FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organization, is using this opportunity to highlight the work to rescue and protect endangered animals. While FOUR PAWS is best known for our animal sanctuaries, the organization recognizes the importance of protecting the natural habitats of these species. Many species connected to the mission are listed the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and/or listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Wild animals including the African Lion, Bengal Tiger, African Elephant, and the European Brown Bear are among many wild animal species that FOUR PAWS consistently works to protect and save.

Recognized as Endangered Species Month, May is packed with FOUR PAWS actions and events aimed at spreading awareness and shifting legislative priorities towards more proactive conservation of wild species. FOUR PAWS is proud to partner with The Great Elephant Migration for “A Coexistence Story”, a traveling public art exhibit featuring 100 life-sized elephant sculptures that will “migrate” over 3,500 miles across the country. The herd will soon arrive in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and remain on display this month at the Museum of Wildlife Art. FOUR PAWS is honored to have named an elephant in the migration, Madhubala, after a real elephant whom FOUR PAWS reunited with her sisters in Pakistan last year after 15 years of separation. Formerly the last captive elephant in a zoo in Pakistan, Madhubala now enjoys a species-appropriate environment with her family.

From elephants to lions, FOUR PAWS has also partnered with the New York Climate Film Festival for film screening featuring the U.S. public premier of the organization’s documentary, Dethroned. Photojournalist Aaron Gekoski has spent his life documenting the interplay of people and the planet and now, he’s turning his camera on these icons of the ancients, the big cats.   From the jungles of Peru and the lion farms of South Africa to exotic pet owners in Pakistan and Southeast Asia’s illegal wildlife trade, Dethroned is a thoughtful and beautifully crafted investigation into our relationship with big cats. Ultimately, it asks: what becomes of us when we destroy all that is sacred?

Legislation has proven one of the most effective means in protecting wild animal populations. Most recently, FOUR PAWS’ Boston-based office joined with 131 other organizations in opposing proposed changes to the ESA by the Trump Administration that would drastically weaken the Act by removing vital protections for habitats that endangered species rely on for their survival and recovery. This attempt to undermine the effectiveness of the ESA is just one of many attacks against this important bi-partisan legislation that has successfully saved species from extinction. FOUR PAWS is proud to support and fight for the Endangered Species Act to ensure incredible animals like big cats remain in the wild for years to come. 

Through these public engagement efforts, FOUR PAWS aims to increase public interest and attitudes towards protecting imperiled species, both within the U.S. and around the world.