WildRights is Defend Them All’s initiative to confront the systemic imbalance in law and policy that prioritizes human interests over the well-being of animals and their habitats. We work to ensure wild animals are recognized as beings with their own inherent interests—and that those interests are meaningfully represented in decision-making and governance. We are grounded in the understanding that the health of ecosystems and the rights of animals are inseparable: rivers cannot live if fish and frogs die within them, and animals cannot thrive in collapsing forests, wetlands, or páramos.

In Latin America, progressive Rights of Nature laws offer a foundation for rethinking our relationship with the natural world. Ecuador and Bolivia were the first countries to constitutionally recognize nature as a rights-bearing entity. Yet these frameworks often protect land and water in the abstract, without explicitly defending the animals who depend on them. Meanwhile, animal protection laws focus on sentient beings but rarely confront the destruction of their habitats. WildRights bridges this divide. We work toward legal systems that recognize both: that ecosystems have the right to exist and regenerate, and that the animals within them have interests of their own that must be upheld. The power of Rights of Nature lies not only in its existence on paper, but in whether governments, courts, and communities enforce it when it conflicts with extraction and profit.

Through legal strategy, research, and on-the-ground engagement, WildRights strengthens the capacity of local advocates and shares lessons across borders. Protecting wildlife and ecosystems is a global challenge, and the legal innovations emerging from Latin America offer models for the world, especially as environmental protections in North America continue to be weakened.