Wildlife crime is a major threat to international security. This trade is now worth an estimated $20 billion a year and has become the fourth largest illegal activity in the world after drugs, arms and people-trafficking. From Al Shabab in Somalia to Boko Haram in Nigeria, armed groups and criminal gangs are making huge profits from the illegal wildlife trade, fuelling instability and conflict.
We need to act now to stop them.
Last November, 82 MEPs co-signed my letter to the European Commission calling for an EU Action Plan against Wildlife Crime. To follow up on this, yesterday I launched the MEPs for Wildlife Interest Group, led by one MEP from each of the European Parliament’s seven political groups. This will keep the pressure on the Commission to propose a comprehensive EU Action Plan with measures proposed across all areas, from development aid to justice and home affairs.
Any EU plan should include three elements: a permanent fund to boost anti-poaching efforts, tougher minimum sanctions for wildlife criminals and a dedicated new Wildlife Crime Unit in the EU’s crime-fighting agency Europol. Anti-poaching patrols and customs officers in Africa are increasingly finding themselves outmanned and outgunned. Europe is still used as a major transit for the illegal wildlife trade and in some EU member states wildlife traffickers continue to be let off with a mere fine and a slap on the wrist. We need a proper strategy that addresses these problems in every area that the EU operates.
Time is against us. The illegal ivory trade has led to the slaughter of 100,000 elephants in the past two years. At this rate, African elephants in the wild could be wiped out within 10 years. I was pleased to see China has bowed to international pressure and announced a year-long ban on carved ivory imports ahead of this week’s visit by Prince William. But much more needs to be done. The fight against wildlife-trafficking will not be easy. But future generations would not forgive us if we failed to put a stop to this despicable trade.
* Catherine Bearder was Lib Dem MEP for the South East region from 2009-2020.
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5 Comments
Great article, Catherine! Wildlife crime is still a massive issue. With you fighting hard, I’m sure we’ll see some success.
This is fantastic news, well done! Whilst the focus is understandably on ivory, will tougher action be taken against wildlife crime in the UK too, such as persecution of raptors, hunting with dogs, illegal over-fishing & the increase in badger persecution?
Best wishes,
Jack
So the last living Liberal Democrat MEP is working to protect endangered species.
Makes sense to me. 🙂
Good work Catherine, thanks keep it up.
The creation of MEPs for Wildlife is a very welcome step, and we hope to see it carrying forward effective action and legislation, starting in the UK – which shamefully allows ivory to be sold at auction and other outlets. The EU has a huge trade in the export of allegedly legal ivory, and the UK is the single major exporter of carved ivory.
Re China’s 1-year ban, this will do nothing to stem the poaching – which overall has seen no decline in the past year since the London summit – nor to stop domestic demand for ivory in China. The ban only applies to carved ivory objects and does not include tusks or other uncarved ivory. It is nothing more than a sop to the West, a deflection from the most urgent needs – a complete ban on ivory commerce in China (legal and illegal).
The fate of the elephants lies in the hands of the Chinese, and for NGOs and others to praise them for this inadequate half-measure is misguided.
Reports coming out of the Botswana conference are grim, and show no overall decline in poaching. The window for saving elephants has narrowed to 5 years. Much more needs to be done by the UK, the EU, and all countries to turn this trend around – especially taking a much stronger stance with China – or we will be the last generation to see elephants in the wild before they pass into oblivion.