Eight journalists from South Asia were awarded grants to report on the complex issues surrounding illegal wildlife trade in the region.
The unique fellowships, organized in partnership between Wildlife SOS and the Journalism Centre on Global Trafficking (JCOGT), are aimed at encouraging and promoting top-quality journalism and reporting on wildlife trafficking
The Fellows were selected from a wide pool of applicants that participated in a December 10 workshop ‘Beyond the Cage: Reporting on Exotic Pets and Wildlife Crime Trafficking’, which was attended by more than 200 journalists from the region. Journalists developed story proposals and reporting projects based on topics and information covered in the workshop.
Kartick Satyanarayan, CEO & Co- Founder of Wildlife SOS said, "This is a visionary program that fosters investigative skills and supports the launch of collaborative journalism networks on trafficking so that the media can continue to report effectively on these issues."
The award-winners received financial assistance that enabled them to report on in-depth or investigative stories on wildlife trafficking. The project aims to increase evidenced-based reporting on wildlife trafficking, in South Asia’s national and community print, audio, and broadcast media. JCOGT coached and supported select journalists over a period of months as they reported, conceived, and published impactful stories.
Financial support for a portion of the grants comes from WildlifeSOS. The organization did not participate in the review or selection of the fellows.
The 2025 South Asia wildlife fellows are:
Rashad Ahamad (New Age, Bangladesh) reported on how the illegal trade of exotic birds has shifted from traditional black markets to virtual platforms. Read the story here: https://bit.ly/illegalbirds
Varsha Singh (Down to Earth, India) investigated how birds play a prominent role in the exotic pet trade. Read the story here: https://bit.ly/3RCnbkn
Bijay Bashyal (The Annapurna Express and The Himalayan Times, Nepal) explored how the exotic pet fish trade is posing a threat to Nepal’s native species. Read the story here: https://bit.ly/4cZyCMS
Romita Saluja, (Independent journalist, India) investigated how Asian antelopes and blackbucks are a big menace for farmers in Haryana. Read the story here: https://bit.ly/nilgaihabitat
Grants supported by Wildlife SOS, a non-profit conservation organisation based in India, for reportage on sloth bears, big cats and elephants, are:
Farhana Ahmed (The Assam Tribune, North East Now, India), reported on how the growing human-leopard conflict in northeast India is leading to the trafficking of body parts of leopards. Read the story here: https://bit.ly/4jTCgda
Mukesh Pokhrel (freelancer for RT International and Climate Watch, Nepal), reported on how elephants are killed in Nepal every year with government support. Read the story here: https://tinyurl.com/2pykrckz
Auqib Javeed (freelancer, who writes for The Quint, Kashmir Convener, Free Press Kashmir and The Wire) explored how urbanization and unscientific waste disposal are fuelling human-leopard conflicts in Kashmir. Read the story here: https://tinyurl.com/bigcatstrash
Sandip Chakraborty (Newsclick, India) investigated the plight of elephants in Amber Fort, Jaipur, who are used for joyrides. Read the story here: https://tinyurl.com/elephantsjaipur
*Each grantee received up to USD 500.