Our animation to ban snares was seen by millions

Wow. We weren’t quite expecting that.

Since releasing our latest animated film on Wednesday night, it’s been viewed over 6 million times and inspired more than 60,000 people to take action — that’s over 60,000 emails sent directly to government ministers calling for a ban on snares in England.

This beautifully crafted animation clearly struck a chord. Thousands of comments have poured in from people who, for the first time, learned about the horrific use of these cruel and deadly devices. Over on TikTok the film has generated a staggering 1.5 million likes and 125k saves. The response has been nothing short of overwhelming.

We want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to Fire Lily Studio, the creative powerhouse behind this film and so many others we’ve collaborated on over the years. Lead animator Ben is extraordinarily talented and a true joy to work with — thoughtful, passionate, and endlessly creative. His ability to stir emotion and drive action through art is remarkable, and we’re incredibly grateful he continues to use his gifts to speak up for animals.

A lot of the work we do at Protect the Wild can be emotionally tough. But shaping the creative direction of these films — and seeing them ignite such powerful public support — is deeply rewarding. It’s astonishing what a single 30-second video can achieve when it’s done with heart and purpose.

We’ve included a few behind-the-scenes shots of Ben in action. This latest film involved hundreds of hand-drawn and hand-coloured frames, each one meticulously crafted and stitched together. I had the privilege of visiting Ben’s studio recently and witnessing the process firsthand — it’s painstaking, intricate, and absolutely inspiring.

Speaking to Protect the Wild about our recent ‘ban snares’ animation, Ben said:

“This is not a fictional animation”. That is what guides us in Fire Lily Studio to produce our animations. Our references are real animals in the real world suffering from cruelty they can’t protect themselves from. For example, in our last film each scene is based on a real photo and incident of an animal being snared.

We’re just doing our part to defend animal rights through the power of animation.

The main aspect we try to emphasise in these films is the emotion of the animal - providing an insight into animal abuse that we rarely get to see. Animation can exaggerate it so that it becomes more obvious, enabling humans to put themselves into the animal’s terrifying places.

Also, people are often immediately switched off by real footage of animal suffering, whether it’s wildlife crime or abuse in the meat and dairy industry, purely because it is so hard to watch. Animation allows a viewer to engage with the subject, not only because the gore and visceral reality is removed, but also through character and story.

If you’re a fan of Protect the Wild’s animations, be sure to show some love to Ben and Fire Lily Studio (Follow them on Instagram here) — the creative force behind them. They’ve got some truly exciting plans in the works as they continue animating a future that’s greener and kinder to animals.

And we’re just getting started! There are plenty more powerful animations on the way. If you’d like to follow our journey and stay up to date with our work protecting British wildlife, head over to Instagram and give us a follow! 💚

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Who we are - Protect the Wild

Founded in 2015 Protect the Wild is a non-profit organisation working to empower people to protect British wildlife. Our mission is to end hunting, end shooting and end Badger persecution.

Whether it’s through creating hard-hitting animations, working to change key pieces of legislation, or reporting events in a powerful and truthful way, we understand the importance of being proactive and dynamic.

We mean it when we say we aspire to be so much more than just a campaigning organisation.

We aspire to be a winning one too. For wildlife and for all of us.