Washington, D.C. – Today, the international wildlife charity, Born Free Foundation, launched a significant new report, End Wildlife Trafficking, at the European Parliament, aimed at persuading the European Commission to develop and implement an EU Action Plan to tackle the shocking and illegal trade in wildlife. Read the full report at www.bornfreeusa.org/endwildlifetrafficking.[teaserbreak]
The report will be accompanied by a week-long exhibition and half-day conference at the European Parliament in Brussels, with a press launch to be attended by legendary actress and conservationist, Virginia McKenna OBE, and President of the Born Free Foundation, Will Travers OBE.
The report highlights the horrific scale of the illegal trade in wildlife products such as rhino horn, ivory, and bushmeat, and the practice of buying and selling live animals as exotic pets. The European Union is a significant source, transit point, and major destination for many illegal wildlife products and, shockingly, an average of 2,500 illegal wildlife trade seizures are recorded every year in the EU. Experts estimate that this figure could represent 10% or less of the total amount of illegal wildlife products in trade, which means that the complete figure could be in excess of 25,000 products annually.
Will Travers said: “The European Union Action Plan on illegal wildlife trade should focus on what the European Union can do, both internally and externally, to end the scourge of wildlife trafficking. Leadership means action, and the EU is in an influential position to help secure the long-term survival of a variety of threatened and endangered species. There is, quite literally, no time to waste.”
The campaign to stamp out the illegal trade in wildlife has won some other high profile backers, most significantly HRH The Duke of Cambridge, who is President of United for Wildlife. He said: “Around the world, the illegal wildlife trade is responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of animals a year, pushing some of our most loved species to the brink of extinction. Our children should not live in a world without elephants, tigers, pangolins, and rhinos. Enough is enough. We are not asking for your money. We are asking for your voice and your attention. We are asking you to join our side. It’s time to choose between critically endangered species and the criminals who kill them for money.”
The importance of unified action at an EU level was emphasized last year by a European Parliamentary Resolution on Wildlife Crime and in the responses to the European Commission’s consultation on Wildlife Trafficking. The situation was summed up by the EU Commissioner of Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, in 2014, when he said: “I would like to see the EU at the forefront of tackling wildlife trafficking, both domestically and internationally.”
The report also provides some guidance on the detail the Born Free Foundation would like to see in the Action Plan. This includes provisions to ensure that the EU has its own house in order, the identification of resources with which the EU can help other countries combat the problem, and measures to address the impacts of trade on animal welfare. It calls for the commercial scale and organized nature of wildlife crime to be recognized and highlights the impact that corruption in this sector can have on good governance.
“The global, illegal wildlife trade—be it live animals for the pet trade or public display, carcasses traded as ‘trophies,’ or specific body parts or products made from them—is driving environmental destruction, wildlife extinctions, and animal suffering. It involves criminal activity which leads to corruption and risks to human safety and national security,” added veterinarian Mark Jones, who works as Wildlife Policy Manager at the Born Free Foundation. “The 2,500 seizures of illegally-traded wildlife products recorded every year in the EU represent the tip of the iceberg. Action at an EU level is urgently needed.”
Catherine Bearder MEP, Chair of MEPs for Wildlife, said: “Illegal wildlife trade not only constitutes a major threat to the conservation of ecosystems and their wildlife but it also poses a major security and economic threat to countries worldwide. With an estimated annual turnover of at least 19 billion USD, the fact is that it is now the fourth largest illegal activity in the world, after drug trafficking, counterfeiting, and human trafficking. It is clear that coordinated European and global action is required to tackle this crisis now, by all of us. The development of a meaningful EU Wildlife Crime Action Plan has wide political support across the Parliament, and I and my fellow MEPs urge the Commission to come forward with such a plan without delay.”
To support the findings of the report, the Born Free Foundation has worked with award-winning photographer George Logan and creative agency WCRS to create a campaign that illustrates some of the most shocking aspects of the wildlife trade. A set of five highly emotive images has been produced which highlight animal parts used for medicine, the trade in live animals for pets, bushmeat, trophy hunting, and terrorism. The images, which illustrate Born Free’s report, exhibition, and conference, are a thought-provoking and highly effective way of bringing the issues to a wider audience in light of the new EU-wide proposals.
The Born Free Foundation is a dynamic international wildlife charity devoted to compassionate conservation and animal welfare. Born Free takes action worldwide to protect threatened species and stop individual animal suffering. Born Free believes wildlife belongs in the wild and works to phase out zoos. The Foundation rescues animals from lives of misery in tiny cages and gives them lifetime care. Born Free protects lions, elephants, tigers, gorillas, wolves, polar bears, dolphins, marine turtles, and many more species in their natural habitats, working with local communities to help people and wildlife live together without conflict. The Foundation’s high-profile campaigns change public attitudes, persuade decision-makers, and get results. Every year, Born Free helps hundreds of thousands of animals worldwide. More at www.bornfree.org.uk.
Born Free USA is a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, Born Free USA leads vital campaigns against animals in entertainment, exotic “pets,” trapping and fur, and the destructive international wildlife trade. Born Free USA brings to America the message of “compassionate conservation”—the vision of the U.K.-based Born Free Foundation, established in 1984 by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the iconic film Born Free, along with their son Will Travers. Born Free’s mission is to end suffering of wild animals in captivity, conserve threatened and endangered species, and encourage compassionate conservation globally. More at www.bornfreeusa.org, www.twitter.com/bornfreeusa, and www.facebook.com/bornfreeusa.
Media Contact: Rodi Rosensweig, 203/270-8929, therodicompany@gmail.com