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Watch claws for a cause

Raise money for tigers by watching cat videos on dedicated YouTube channel
Watch claws for a cause

To mark International Tiger Day (Friday 29 July), UK charity Save Wild Tigers has launched a world-first initiative that will generate proceeds for tigers from every cat video watched on a dedicated YouTube channel called The Kitty.

Viewers can watch hundreds of videos that are already on the new channel, and can also upload clips of their own feline friends through the official The Kitty website. For every cat video viewed a donation will be made to Save Wild Tigers.

‘The world watches cat videos hundreds of millions of times each month on YouTube – with over 35 billion views to date and counting. If all of the cat video views on YouTube so far raised just half a penny per view for the cause, the estimated funds raised would add up to over £265m – theoretically enough to save an animal from extinction in the wild.’

SIMON CLINTON
Founder of Save Wild Tigers

Tiger poaching

The past century has seen the world’s wild tiger population decline by 97%. Tigers are slaughtered so their parts can be used to make products such as tiger bone wine, which wealthy customers around the world traditionally believe will increase their sex drive and make them stronger. Some regulars pay hundreds of pounds for a single bottle.

‘If poaching continues at this level, along with other threats to their survival, including habitat loss, human-tiger conflict, and diminishing levels of prey, tigers could be extinct in the wild in as little as a decade. Whether you are a fan of the big cats or our household friends, cat lovers can come together to save wild tigers by joining in on one of the UK’s favourite pastimes – watching and uploading cat videos.’

SIMON CLINTON
Founder of Save Wild Tigers

The immoral trade is driving a remarkable growth in tiger farming, with tiger bones being steeped in rice wine for several years to produce the drink.

Poaching and illegal trade is the biggest and most concerning threat for the world’s most famous cat, with demand for tiger skins, teeth and meat fuelling illegal poaching and trafficking organisations.

Show your support

To raise awareness of the problem this International Tiger Day, UK non-profit charity initiative Save Wild Tigers is shining a light on the issue and calling for immediate action to ensure we don’t lose our beloved tigers.

‘We’re giving content makers—which is pretty much everyone with a smartphone—their own platform to collectively do something that will benefit the planet. If we can harness or own the long tail of cat videos on YouTube, we can generate significant and ongoing funds for wild tiger preservation.’

SIMON CLINTON
Founder of Save Wild Tigers

While cats may be the Internet’s mascots, this big kitty needs the public’s support to prevent further extinction across the remaining six out of nine tiger sub-species.

The funds raised by ad views will support campaigns that help reduce demand for tiger products in countries such as China, undercover investigations into the wildlife trade and lobbying for better regulations.

Save Wild Tigers’ mission is to provide urgent and ongoing targeted support for tiger conservation, in a bid to eradicate the increasing threat of extinction that wild tigers face. Celebrity supporters of the charity initiative include Brian May, Joanna Lumley, Jaime Winstone, Jimmy Choo, Beverley Knight and Gok Wan, who have all backed the cause.

Click here to visit The Kitty YouTube channel. Upload your own clips here.

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