Companies Using Animals On Adverts Required To Donate To Wildlife Conservation

East Africa Brand

Is about that time animals got some financial credit for advancing the commercial brands into profit streams.

United Nations Development Programme has come up with an initiative to raise money that will be donated towards conservation of wildlife habitats, animal welfare, and its environments worldwide targeting firms that use animals in their advertisement. The initiative aims to raise US$100 million (Sh10 billion) annually in the next three years.

“We intend to raise the amount from advertisers whom we expect to contribute 0.5 percent of their media spend every time an animal is featured in an advertisement,” the UN official explained.

Christened Lion’s Share Fund, the alliance grants corporates the opportunity to participate in wildlife conservation and animal welfare by raising money, beyond corporate social responsibility.

Compassionate souls feeling generous enough to give back to the wildlife for their conservation with the corporate world in all UN member state expected to make voluntary contributions every time an animal appears in their adverts.

East Africa Breweries Limited which uses the elephant to market its Tusker brand of beer and Kenya Commercial Bank which uses a lion in its logo among others are being urged to donate a small percentage for each offline or online marketing campaign featuring an animal.

“Everyone is commercially abusing the wildlife to advertise their products from airlines, hotels, banks, manufacturing firms, but despite this profit-making significance, animals do not always get the support they deserve. We’re not compelling firms to contribute to Lion’s Share Fund but rather creating moral compassion and awareness on the need to support wildlife conservation” said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the director of UNDP’s Bureau for policy and programme support.

Statistics compiled by UN indicate that advertisers invest US$300 billion (Sh30 trillion) and the campaigners feel the 0.5 percent of the global expenditure on adverts is not too much to ask. That the contribution will go a long way in curbing the deaths of wildlife species facing extinction,  globally by restoring their depleted habitats and enhancing their protection measure.