I work to end the captive wildlife entertainment industry one step at a time.
Hi, I’m Nicole, and I’m one of the Wildlife Campaign Managers at World Animal Protection US. I’m responsible for our Wildlife. Not Entertainers campaigns working to end the captive wildlife entertainment industry through public education, corporate engagement, and the development of responsible alternatives.
Not too difficult right?
Luckily, I love the work that I do, and I’m optimistic that one day the use of wild animals such as dolphins, tigers, and elephants for entertainment and profit will cease to exist. Until then, here’s a bird’s eye view of the various types of work I do every day.
Me discussing my campaign work with potential supporters.
Digital actions
On any given day, you can find me organizing some type of digital action that our supporters can take to help move our corporate campaigns forward. That could be a one-click email where supporters send an email to executives at a company we’ve identified as offering attractions where wildlife suffers, or it could be our monthly Tweetstorms urging Groupon to stop selling deals to cruel wildlife venues.
Offline actions
Planning “offline actions,” (a term we use at World Animal Protection for tactics launched in cities and communities) is another significant aspect of my work. Usually, we launch offline actions to increase pressure on companies that aren’t engaging with us; in my case, a travel company that sells tickets to captive wildlife entertainment venues. From start to finish, I spend my days generating ideas, handling logistics with colleagues, and implementing the action “day of.”
Whether it’s launching an interactive dolphin tank for our past Expedia campaign or sidewalk stencils in Chicago for our Groupon campaign, I’m always thinking about creative ways to achieve our objectives and make positive change for animals.
Posing with Groupon street stencils.
Corporate engagement
To end the captive wildlife entertainment industry, we work with the travel industry to adopt meaningful animal welfare policies and implement wildlife-friendly travel experiences for their customers. In the past, we’ve worked with Airbnb on its animal experiences platform and Booking.com on its animal welfare policies. My focus in this work is on educating companies on the impact their offerings have on wild animals and attending travel industry events to build relationships and foster connections.
While the majority of my work focuses on corporate campaigning, I also work to develop materials to educate the public about the captive wildlife entertainment industry. Check out our animal-friendly travel guide and my other blogs on wildlife-related topics.
Looking for ways to help animals?
Get involved with our Groupon campaign and urge the company to protect animals, not exploit them. We also have our digital activist toolkit for different ways you can help us move Groupon. Follow me on Twitter at @dolphindefender and stay in touch with the work I do.