Dr. Masha Vorontsova 

Masha established the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s office in the Russian Federation in 1994, then initiated a campaign which led to a ban on the winter den hunt of hibernating bears. She helped expand the Orphan Bear Cub Rehabilitation Centre, which has rescued, rehabilitated and released more than 170 orphan bear cubs back to the wild. 

Masha has also led campaigns resulting in the ban on the White Sea whitecoat harp seal hunt and the Sea of Okhotsk beluga hunt, as well as working to increase the penalties for poaching of tigers and several other endangered species listed in the Red Book of Russia. As part of the efforts by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to save the critically endangered western grey whale, Masha’s team helped ensure that offshore oil and gas pipelines were constructed around, rather than through, crucial feeding grounds near Sakhalin Island.