HYANNIS–A GoFundMe campaign has been launched in support of Wild Response, an organization that aims to combat wildlife poaching across the globe.
Wild Response was founded by United States Army veteran and Green Beret Kevin Garrad. Along with his partner and Cape-native Cassandra, Garrad developed a passion to protect endangered species from poachers.
“It’s the fourth largest trade in the world after guns, drugs, and human trafficking; it’s worth, like, $22 billion a year,” Garrad explained.
“So, it’s a wide-scale industry that’s going to, basically, erase these animals from the earth for profit, for human profit and greed.”
Funds raised by the campaign will benefit the nonprofit’s operating costs for the first quarter of the new year, providing resources for things such as curriculum development, field training, and marketing.
While Wild Response was officially established just this year, Garrad sees the movement growing exponentially in the future. In particular, he wants to be able to hire more veterans to help with the cause.
“The tactics we teach Wildlife Rangers are very similar,” he continued.
“Also, these men and women are extremely reliable; they serve in the military. So, it’s a great re-purposing of them for our purpose of saving animals.”
Garrad started Wild Response with another veteran, Jeff Mazziotta, and travels around the world to train rangers and work with other conservation non-profits.
To donate to the GoFundMe campaign, click here.
About Brendan Fitzpatrick
