London Hosts Conference On Illegal Wildlife Trade

Last month British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted a summit in London that was designed to fight against the illegal wildlife trade globally.

50 heads of state attended from some of the worst affected countries. It is estimated the illegal wildlife trade is worth approximately £11.5 billion per year.

Rhino poaching reached record levels last year according to the Save the Rhino charity. In 2013 1,004 rhino’s were lost to poaching in South Africa alone. In 2014 86 Rhino deaths have been recorded in South Africa so far. The level of Rhino poaching globally has risen an astonishing 7,500 per cent between 2007 and 2013 and it is estimated that once every ten hours a Rhino is killed by a poacher.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates the trade in illegal ivory has more than doubled since 2007, with a kilo of ivory selling for as much as £1,200

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that 23 tonnes of ivory which is tusks from 2,500 elephants was seized in the 13 largest seizures during 2011. In 2013 the WWF estimates that 30,000 elephants were killed for their tusks.

The Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales both of whom lobbied the Prime Minister to hold the summit will attend the summit and also produced a video that was shown to delegates.

“We have to be the generation that stopped the illegal wildlife trade and secured the future of these magnificent animals and their habitats, for if we fail it will be too late.” The Duke said in the video.

The video ends with both the Duke and the Prince saying “Lets unite for wildlife” in a number of different languages including Mandarin and Swahili.

The conference seeks to target three key elements in the illegal wildlife and poaching industry. The first goal is to toughen up law enforcement, the second objective is to try to cut demand for illegal products and the final aim is to develop sustainable alternative livelihoods for people who turn to poaching.