'Let's Unite for Wildlife': Prince Charles and William
The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge call for an end to the illegal wildlife trade.
The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge
The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge have created a video message urging people around the world to support organisations working to stop the illegal wildlife trade:
In the video Their Royal Highnesses talk about the unprecedented levels of killing of endangered species like elephants, which are killed at a rate of 100 per day. They also highlight the grave threat the illegal wildlife trade poses to the economic and political stability in many areas around the world.
During the film, The Prince of Wales says:
We have come together, as father and son, to lend our voices to the growing global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade - a trade that has reached such unprecedented levels of killing and related violence that it now poses a grave threat not only to the survival of some of the world’s most treasured species, but also to economic and political stability in many areas around the world.
The Duke of Cambridge goes on to say:
Despite the terrible crisis that we now face, we both continue to be optimistic that the tide can be reversed. 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 video ends with The Prince and The Duke saying the phrase “Let’s unite for wildlife!” in Arabic, Vietnamese, Swahili, Spanish and Mandarin in order to be understood by as many people as possible living in the countries most affected by the illegal wildlife trade.
The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge are attending the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade hosted by the UK Government at Lancaster House on 13th February. The conference will give leaders from across the world an opportunity to discuss the issue and agree a more coordinated global response to help eradicate the illegal wildlife trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction. The Prince of Wales will deliver a speech at the London Conference.
Background
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The Prince of Wales convened a Conference with the UK Government in May 2013, to which The Duke also attended. This acted as a pre-cursor to the London Conference on The Illegal Wildlife Trade on Thursday 13 February hosted by the UK Government at Lancaster House in central London where leaders from across are meeting to discuss the issue and agree a more coordinated global response to help eradicate this pernicious trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction.The Prince has for more than four decades championed action for a sustainable future. He is a champion of conservation and preserving wildlife and became President of WWF UK in 2011. The Prince has launched numerous sustainability initiatives over the years including the International Sustainability Unit, which facilitates consensus on how to resolve some of the key environmental challenges facing the world.
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Like his father and grandfather, The Duke of Cambridge has a passion for conservation. He has been Patron of Tusk Trust since 2005 and has made sustainable conservation a key area of his own charitable foundation. Through The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, The Duke convened, and became President of, United for Wildlife, a collaboration of seven of the largest field based global conservation organisations. The collaboration aims to substantially increase the global response to major conservation crises, such as the illegal wildlife trade.