The Trump administration is reviewing millions of dollars in grants to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) after news reports that armed anti-poaching forces backed by the group have been accused of rape, murder and other human-rights abuses.
The Interior Department is re-evaluating $125 million granted to WWF for its global anti-poaching efforts since 2013, BuzzFeed News reported Tuesday, and is withholding proposed funding after pledging to take "decisive action" to ensure that tax dollars are not being used for such activities.
"The allegations raise questions about both the adequacy of the controls in place to effectively and transparently monitor the use of U.S. taxpayer resources that support conservation and trafficking goals … [and] WWF's oversight and accountability of the local partners accused of wrongdoing," Assistant Interior Secretary Susan Combs said in a letter last week to Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.
Established in 1961, WWF is a global conservation organization known for its panda logo and is backed by actor Leonardo DiCaprio and other Hollywood celebrities.
But BuzzFeed reports that the U.S. government has granted WWF as much as $157 million over 15 years that included aid for anti-poaching activities by armed groups.
But those groups have been linked to "brutal abuses against local villagers" in Africa, for instance, and WWF commissioned a 2015 report on atrocities in Cameroon that was not made public.
WWF told BuzzFeed in a statement, however, that it has "a long history of working with the U.S. government to support community-based natural resource management, conserve endangered species, and address the global wildlife trafficking crisis."
The group's projects are "designed to meet the requirements of our U.S. government donors and fully comply with federal laws," the statement said.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.