Protecting the Wild Support Network and 'amplification'
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In February we launched the ‘Protecting the Wild Support Network’. We explained that it was an enhanced version of the Equipment Fund that came before it and that a key part of that new support would be promotion.
What we said was this:
The Support Network will still provide equipment to groups via the Equipment Fund just as before (it works, we won't be changing that in the foreseeable future), but we are now also offering groups in the support network priority access to that equipment, more promotion through our social media platforms (over the 2023 Christmas period our messages on social media were viewed over SIX million times alone), and our personal help and support whenever we can give it.
In this post we wanted to have a quick look at what ‘more promotion’ actually means. It’s an explanation written for both our own audience (who largely fund the Support Network) and for groups already in the Support Network or groups who are coming across it for the first time (and if after reading this you or your group would like to be a part of the Support Network too, please get in touch using network@protectthewild.org.uk).
Our platforms
Protect the Wild has what - in this sector especially - would be considered a huge audience. We operate a website - Protect the Wild - which typically sees thousands of visitors a day (if you’ve not seen our site recently, check it out - we’ve been making a lot of improvements) and we post throughout the day on social media.
The effectiveness of social media platforms can be rather tricky to predict - ‘wise after the event’ is one thing, but few of us could have anticipated the firestorm lit by Elon Musk for example - but to offset random shadowbans, algorithm updates, and changes in legislation we have deliberately spread ourselves across as many platforms as possible: X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram - and of course here on Substack.
We invest a great deal of time and resources into these platforms, and our social media posts are now being seen by literally millions of people every month. Every blog post (or more accurately ‘newsletter’) we put out on Substack is now viewed around 40,000 times! Most months see a million views on Substack, which is a staggering readership for a platform few other organisations in this sector even use.
But there’s no point in having this ‘reach’ if it’s not used to get the changes that we want - to end hunting, end shooting, and end the badger cull. And that’s where ‘more promotion’ or ‘amplification’ comes in…
Amplification
The groups we support are doing fantastic work on exactly the issues we want to shine a spotlight on. Many have their own successful social media outlets of course, but on the whole these groups are clearly regionally-based and that’s typically been reflected in their audience. That’s not a criticism in any way, just the reality.
This is especially true of monitor groups, who tend to focus on specific areas of the country. Affiliated sab groups have always had the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA) to amplify their reports more widely. Monitors haven’t. But the work they do is as important and as deserving of a much larger audience. Which is where Protect the Wild comes in.
Using our own platforms we can ‘amplify’ posts for groups, showcasing their work to many more people.
In just the last few months, for example we have written Substack posts that have featured the work of five monitor groups who are part of our Support Network. The posts have largely been based on material the groups have already written and published on their own feeds, but are usually extended and expanded on - always with the help of the group involved and always fact-checked by them before publication.
On 3 April we posted ‘United Pack steal monitor's drone’. Subtitled “Shropshire Wildlife Monitors need help to replace it - so let's give that help to them!” the post has now been viewed 44.3k times (and the drone replaced!).
On 24 March we posted ‘South Durham Hunt: yet another hunt recorded breaking the law’. Subtitled “Extended drone footage shared by North East Hunt Monitors is unequivocal” the post has now been viewed 47k times.
On 18 March we posted ‘Holderness Hunt kill badger - and run away!’ Written with Hull Wildlife Protectors the post has now been viewed 48.8k times.
On 14 Feb we posted ‘CAUGHT: Derwent Hunt filmed trespassing on nature reserve’. Written with Helmsley Monitors (who don’t have their own social media platform) the post has now been viewed 48.6k times.
On 02 Feb we posted 'Stop and search' of monitor at Boxing Day parade raises serious questions’ which explored the treatment by police of a Curre and Llangibby Hunt Monitor. That post has now been viewed 44.7k times.
On 12 March we also ‘amplified’ the work of Wildlife Guardian (an independent investigative group) who we worked with to post a short video of numerous offences committed by the Devon and Somerset Staghounds. Titled ‘Footage of stag hunt reveals blatant lawbreaking’ that post has now been viewed 45.8k times.
That’s a total of 279k views of just six posts spread across not much more than two months! And of course we have posted many more times about all these groups and about these incidents on social media.
That’s quite a ‘service’ really - but remember, when it comes to the Support Network there is no ‘joining fee’, no ‘membership charge’, no cost whatsoever and never will be. We offer our support and platforms for free because we want precisely what the groups themselves want - to put lawbreakers and police bias in front of as large an audience as possible.
Can you help us help them?
Similarly, we will never charge to read our content - on any of our platforms - or put it behind a paywall. The information we put out often reflects the hard work of other people, of course, so it would be unethical, but it needs to be available to everyone anyway. Access to it certainly should never be determined by how much disposable income someone might have.
However, we do offer the option of paid subscriptions to help us support the groups we work with. Paid subscribers don’t get to see paywalled content, different posts, or have priority access to anything, but paid subscriptions start from as little as £3.50/month and any money we receive from those paid subscriptions is ringfenced and used to support groups like the monitors featured above, courageous and selfless volunteers who are on the front line protecting wildlife.
Which means we can spend the time we need to curate posts for them, amplifying the amazing work they’re doing - and of course fund the equipment groups need in the field, like bodycams, video recorders, and drones
We are incredibly grateful that our audience is currently taking out paid subs in their hundreds. They are helping real people protect real animals. Making a real difference on the ground where it matters most.
But we’re also incredibly grateful to every single reader who takes the time to read these posts, shares them, comments on them, and takes action because of them. We will never forget that without the thousands and thousands of you that follow us, groups wouldn’t see a value in working with us. Without you we wouldn’t have a Support Network worthy of the name at all.
That we do - and that it is now delivering so spectacularly - is thanks to you.
If you’re an individual or organisation working in the field and would like our support, please have a look at the Support Network page on our website. We’d love to hear from you.
If you’d like to read more about the groups we work with please scroll to the top of the page and click the ‘Support Network’ tag.
Love PTW! Fantastic news that Shropshire drone was replaced! Brilliant! If their case gets to court and they win (fingers and toes crossed), the hunt should be obliged to pay for a second drone! That would teach them! Lol
Keep up the great work PTW. Thanks for all you do to highlight the nefarious activities of the hunters and the wonderful work of sabs and monitors across the country. I sense the ride has turned in our favour and that a proper ban will become law soon. Keep the faith !