Protecting Thailand’s Wildlife: WFFT

Moving Animals spent four months working on photojournalism and media for Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand (WFFT) to help spread the word of their powerful animal rescue and advocacy work.

In collaboration with WFFT

800+ Animals
rescued by WFFT

+15M Video Views
across social media

3 Major Stories
30+ media platforms

WFFT is one of South East Asia’s largest animal sanctuaries and cares for over 800 animals. The sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates captive wild animals and offer a forever home to those who cannot safely be returned to the wild.

We first discovered the work of WFFT in 2020 when they undertook the largest tiger rescue by an NGO in Southeast Asia. Incredibly, this rescue was from Phuket Zoo - a venue Moving Animals had previously documented at.

One of the tigers that we documented, Susu spent 15 yearschained by her neck to a small, stone platform so that tourists could sit next to her and pose for photographs. When not being used as a photo prop, she repeatedly paced back and forth - the chain was so tight, she couldn’t even lift her head properly as she paced.

Two years later, WFFT miraculously secured the rescue of Susu and eleven others from the zoo. Thanks for their efforts, these big cats now roam free on seventeen acres of forested land, where they can run, claw, scratch trees, and swim in the huge lake. When one of the tigers - 19 year-old Rambo -arrived at the sanctuary, he walked into the lake and bathed in the water for five hours.

In 2023, after working with WFFT to publish news of the rescue with UK media platform The Independent, we were delighted to head to WFFT to work in a photography and media capacity for the sanctuary.

Support WFFT

Pai Lin’s Story:

When we first arrived at WFFT we spent the afternoon getting to know the sanctuary and meeting (some of) the hundreds of animals who call this place home.

We learned about Pai Lin the elephant’s dipped spine, and the injuries she sustained after decades spent giving rides to tourists as part of the wildlife entertainment industry. It struck us as such a visually powerful story - a physical representation of what these animals endure when forced to work in captivity. We also wanted to share her story as one of resilience and hope - Pai Lin now lives free at WFFT where she can roam chain-free and engage in natural behaviours.

This story was covered by more 40 prominent media platforms around the world, including CNN, Newsweek, Aljazeera English, Insider Business, and many more, inspiring people to be a part of the solution for elephants.

The story gained substantial traction within the Thai press, and Edwin Wiek, the founder behind WFFT, provided insightful interviews to various television stations, amplifying the reach of the message.

The images were also published as a long-read surrounding the ethics of riding animals by The Washington Post.

Susu’s Story

Through a partnerships with the influential viral media platform, Susu's story was shared with their extensive audience, resulting in an over 12 million views. Using a combination of Moving Animals' footage that shed light on Susu's distressing captivity as a tourist attraction, along with WFFT's own footage capturing the heroic rescue mission, we were able to create a compelling and emotionally resonant story that struck a chord with viewers worldwide. This reach helped to spread the word about WFFT's tireless efforts in safeguarding and rehabilitating animals while encouraging people not to support unethical wildlife tourism or tiger selfies.

X-Rays from the Archives

From Indochinese tigers to white-handed gibbons, Thailand is home to a rich array of wildlife that includes nearly three hundred species of mammals, and many more birds, reptiles, and marine animals.

We decided to search through WFFT medical archives to release a series of stunning X-ray images that show a unique look at some of this wildlife, and highlight some of the stories from their clinic’s nearly two decades of life-saving work in protecting animals. The striking medical images included the likes of a baby macaque, a sun bear, and a golden tree snake, and were all taken at the Wildlife Hospital on-site at WFFT.

The story was covered by Newsweek, sharing WFFT’s nearly two decades of life-saving work with their readers.