Cuddle Don’t Smuggle

A project to help fight against Animal Trafficking

Hi! Our names are Kayla, Mary, Layla, and Asha, and we are 7th-grade students living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We are the creators of the "Cuddle Don't Smuggle" campaign, the goal of which is to raise awareness and money to stop the ever-growing illegal animal trafficking industry. We will be selling custom made Pangolin, Blue-Headed Parrot, Elephant, and Tiger cuddly toys to the community- these are all animals that are being threatened by animal trafficking

Our hope is that the stuffed animals will make children feel more connected and concerned with what terrible things are happening and that this will start a conversation and awareness amongst families, which they will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and so forth. We hope that once interacting with cuddle don’t smuggle, people will walk away knowing that if they don’t support the ever growing trade of animal trafficking, the innocent animals will not be taken from their habitats.

According to our research, the animal trafficking industry makes 10 billion dollars a year. There are more Tigers in American backyards than in the wild (that is only 3,200). One million Pangolins were trafficked in the last 10 years. 800,000 Parrot Chicks are taken from nests every year. And there are only 600,000 African Elephants left in the wild because thousands have been killed for their ivory. Based on this research, we without a doubt, know this is a large issue we must address. This is no “we think” situation- it is a straight up fact, for animal trafficking is the third most illicit commerce in the world.

We have created this page in the hopes of raising enough money to purchase the cuddly toys. The money raised from the sale of the toys and any excess funds raised will be donated the Traffic Orgaization and WWF. We will be buying the toys from a company called Budsies, which changes drawings and photos into stuffed animals. We hope to reach our goal as soon as possible, because if we don’t start taking action now, these wonderful creatures will be trafficked into extinction.

Click Here to see the Cuddle Don't Smuggle Facebook page, where we will keep you updated on our campaign, as well as information about animal trafficking.

Here is the website for the World Wildlife Foundation.

Here is the website for Traffic Organisation.