The US Government Spent Millions Funding World Wildlife Fund-Backed Forces Accused Of Torture and Murder

American taxpayers have spent millions of dollars financing armed anti-poaching forces backed by the World Wide Fund for Nature in areas where guards have been accused of rape and murder, documents reveal. In March, a BuzzFeed News investigation exposed how the beloved mega-charity with the cuddly panda logo — and famous patrons from Leonardo DiCaprio to Sir David Attenborough — has bankrolled paramilitary groups that have tortured and killed people living near wildlife parks in Africa and Asia. WWF is a longtime partner of the US government, and the Department of the Interior has now pledged to take "decisive action" to ensure it is not funding atrocities through the charity or through other groups, according to a letter sent last week to the House Natural Resources Committee, which is also investigating the matter. The Interior is reviewing $125 million spent on grants related to anti-poaching enforcement since 2013 and is withholding proposed grants earmarked for “similar purposes, activities, and geographic areas” as those outlined by BuzzFeed News. A department spokesperson declined to say how much was on hold or to specify how much of the money under review was for WWF and how much was for other organizations. Separate documents obtained by BuzzFeed News reveal that the US government has sent WWF around $157 million over the past 15 years for grants that included support for anti-poaching activities — of which $10 million went toward “armed guards, rangers and enforcement.” Grant records show WWF planned to use the funding to pay for “special arrest teams,” “rigorous” anti-poaching ranger trainings, “patrol strategy,” “intelligence sharing,” and “informant networks.” WWF has also provided rangers with drones, helicopters, night vision goggles, and K-9 units, records show. Some of the funds went to parks where WWF knew guards were accused of brutal abuses against local villagers — not the international poaching kingpins the charity says are its target. The documents raise questions about when and how the charity reported those allegations to the federal agencies funding its programs...MORE