This project focuses on the terrible toll the wildlife pet trade takes on species, individual animals, and their habitat. We are providing community education, and alternative livelihood opportunities for the local indigenous people, who are a major source for these animals.

Our objective is to launch a public education campaign on the wildlife pet trade. Public education efforts aimed at curbing this trade will be beneficial to individual animals as well as to species. Success in raising community awareness will lead to greater support for the Ecology Centre's efforts to enforce laws that prohibit the capture, sale, or holding of wildlife by private individuals. Implementing an education program on a local level with the Aytas allows us to reach Subic Bay and surrounding areas, as well as 3 million visitors annually, 97% of whom are Filipinos.

Our public education program includes the following components:

1. "Wildlife as Pets" poster

2. Presentations to community organizations

3. Educational graphics at the Rescue Center

4. Alternative livelihood opportunities for the Aytas including participation in a "Forest Walk" ecotourist experience with a focus on the wildlife pet issue, caretaker training at the Rescue Center, and support for their environmentally-responsible honey apiculture project.