WWF Accused of Working with Criminals: Allegations

Serious allegations against the World Wildlife Fund: According to a media report, the conservation organisation supports rangers in countries such as Cameroon and Nepal who are committing grave crimes.

The online magazine «Buzzfeed» accuses the nature and environmental conservation organisation World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF) of providing financial and logistical support to rangers who are said to be cracking down on poachers in brutal ways. In several countries, park guards are alleged to have committed acts of violence not only against suspected poachers, but also against uninvolved civilians.

The incidents are said to have taken place in Nepal, India, and Cameroon, among other locations. Across national parks throughout Asia and Africa, the non-profit organisation works with and finances paramilitary forces accused of beating, torturing, sexually abusing, and murdering dozens of people. In 2017, for example, forest rangers in a WWF-funded park in Cameroon tortured an eleven-year-old boy in front of his parents. In Nepal, a farmer is reported to have died in prison following torture. Read more on this topic in the category Crime & Hunting.

The WWF announced it would have the allegations examined in an independent investigation. “Respect for human rights is at the core of our mission,” the organisation stated.

As «Buzzfeed» further reports, the WWF allegedly operates a global network of informants, even though the foundation publicly denies this. Allegations that the WWF purchased weapons from criminals in the Central African Republic are also to be investigated.

The online magazine states that it spent approximately one year researching the article across six countries. The information is said to be based on more than a hundred interviews and thousands of documents, including confidential files and emails.

Villagers who were unwelcome to the WWF were whipped with belts, attacked with machetes, beaten unconscious with bamboo sticks, sexually humiliated, shot, and murdered by WWF-supported anti-poaching units, according to reports and documents from BuzzFeed News.

Some of the allegations at a glance

• The WWF is alleged to have supported rangers who beat villagers with belts, machetes, and bamboo sticks. Rangers are also said to have sexually abused, shot at, and in some cases killed people.
• According to BuzzFeed, WWF staff in Asia and Africa organized anti-poaching missions using brutal “shock troops.” Staff members are also said to have signed a proposal that provided for the killing of intruders.
• The WWF is alleged to have paid, trained, and equipped paramilitaries — including with knives, night-vision devices, protective gear, and batons. It is also said to have financed raids on villages.
• The foundation is alleged to have organized and funded a worldwide “dangerous and secret” network of informants to supply rangers with information — while the WWF consistently denied working with informants.

More articles can be found in the category Miscellaneous.