Community Support

Preventable human activities often pose serious threats to wildlife populations and their habitats. Wildlife Alliance's Russian partner, the Phoenix Fund, works to educate communities about the damage caused by forest fires and wildlife poaching, and foster awareness of the value of preserving native species.

Community members parade the streets in celebration of Tiger Day, a yearly event to honor the Amur (Siberian) tiger and spread awareness of tiger conservation issues in Vladivostok, Russian Far East.

In an effort to prevent the killing of tigers and leopards by farmers who want to protect their livestock, Phoenix operates a compensation program for livestock predations by tigers and leopards. The aim of the program is to prevent retaliation against leopards and tigers that kill livestock and to increase the support for tiger and leopard conservation among the local population.

A member of the Inspection Tiger team investigates the death of a deer by a predator.

Most livestock kills are made at deer farms. Deer farms that have signed an agreement with Phoenix are applicable for compensation for any damages. These farms must agree not to persecute leopards and tigers that visit their farms. Phoenix also provides compensation for livestock kills outside of deer farms, presuming that Phoenix's anti-poaching team is contacted when a livestock kill is discovered and a team member visits and inspects the kill site within 24 hours.

It is usually easy to determine if a domestic animal was killed by a leopard or tiger. If the anti-poaching team can document that the livestock was killed by a leapord or tiger, the full value of the damage is compensated. The value is determined by the inspector in consultation with the owner or farm manager. Phoenix and the farmer or owner draw up a legal agreement, and the killed animal and any evidence (hairs, tracks, bite marks of leopards and tigers) are documented and photographed. After this procedure Phoenix provides the financial compensation. Since September 1999 a total of 42 deer, 5 horses, 2 cows, 2 dogs, 2 sheep and 5 rabbits were killed by leopards and tigers on farms in Khasan and other districts. All kills, except the rabbits, one horse and a calf, occurred on deer farms.    

To learn more about Phoenix Fund, visit http://www.phoenix.vl.ru/