Our campaign, which was launched with The Independent and Evening Standard, continues as Space for Giants seeks to end the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products.
campaign stories
Read the articles produced as top journalists and world experts share their opinions, research, and information on the illegal wildlife trade.
Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction. So why won’t America decide on protecting them until 2025?
Endangered pangolins threatened as coronavirus hits conservation funds
Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade: How pangolins became the ultimate luxury good
COVID-19 has not only resulted in loss of life worldwide and a global economic crisis; it is the cause of a conservation emergency
With the eyes of the world focused elsewhere, those who prey on endangered wildlife for profit have exploited the disruption caused by the virus. Endangered animals are being slaughtered as the limitations imposed on movement prevents wildlife rangers and conservationists stopping this deadly trade, and the sudden collapse in funding puts at risk the future of vital protection programmes.
The impact is already visible. Several African states are raising fears of a return to poaching levels of a decade ago. In India, lockdown is feared to have brought a similar surge, with new trade routes reportedly emerging faster than the authorities can shut them down. With tourism having collapsed, revenues that funded wildlife protection have disappeared and poaching gangs have been encouraged by the reduced capacity of wildlife protectors to do their job. In response The Independent, the London Evening Standard and Space for Giants have launched the Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign, urging the world to act and stop traffickers, prevent illegal wildlife sales, and unite to save endangered species from becoming another victim of the impact of COVID-19.
Preventing another pandemic
The illegal wildlife trade has not only been emboldened by COVID-19; it also may have helped create it. The virus, many scientists believe, was most likely transmitted to humans from a Horseshoe Bat via another host species, possibly an illegally-traded pangolin. In recent years Ebola, SARS and avian influenza were all the result of a similar process of zoonotic transfer.
Zoonotic transfer is a risk whenever humans capture wild animals from their natural habitats and then transport and trade them – dead or alive – to different parts of the world by land, sea or air. Yet the illegal trade in wild animals is a particularly serious zoonotic hazard due to its clandestine, unregulated and sprawling nature. That is why COVID-19 has been a wakeup call that our relationship with nature must change. Inaction is no longer an option.
The Illegal Wildlife Trade
The highly-sophisticated illegal trade of wildlife and wildlife products endangers species around the globe. It is the fourth most profitable transnational crime after the drug trade, arms dealing and human trafficking, being worth up to $23 billion a year. It is often run by well-organised criminal networks that seek to exploit the high rewards and low risks of the trade. It undermines environmental efforts, fuels corruption, threatens the rule of law, and hurts communities dependent on wildlife tourism. The illegal wildlife trade is not only a critical conservation issue but a security and economic issue too.
The demand for wildlife products is often fuelled by their perceived medicinal value or the social status associated with them. At other times it is driven by the desire to possess exotic pets or own rare plants and animals. At the local level, poaching is also the result of poverty, corruption and political instability. In all cases, the illegal poaching, trade and consumption of wildlife is one of the most destructive and destabilising conservation threats.
Its impact on global populations of elephants and rhinos has received international attention but other mammals are under equally severe pressure. This includes cats – such as lions, tigers and snow leopards – and primates, including the great apes. Many species of reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish and invertebrates also require urgent action to protect them. The pangolin, the scaly-skinned mammal sought for its meat and scales and which was possibly a zoonotic conduit for COVID-19, is believed the world’s most illegally-trafficked mammal of all.
tHE CAMPAIGN to stop the illegal wildlife trade
The Independent, the Evening Standard and Space for Giants have joined with partners to help stop the existing trade in illegal wild animals and illegal wild animal products for human consumption. In line with the current surge in public support and political resolve in China, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, we call for action to stop the existing trade in illegal wild animals for human consumption wherever it occurs. Similarly, we support the efforts of African governments to combat poaching and stop illegal animal parts being sold as part of the continent’s bushmeat trade.
As Africa’s population is set to double by 2050 to 2.2 billion, the pressure on wildlife habitats is set to increase and urban areas will soon face many of the same public health risks as Asian cities where similar live animal markets are common. Global media investigations and coverage on all ESI Media’s platforms. The campaign will seek to achieve these objectives through:
Working with leaders of relevant global bodies and national governments.
Promoting awareness of the present conservation crisis and its threats.
Convening experts, influencers and other figures campaigning for change.
Raising funds for Space for Giants programmes to protect wildlife and prevent the illegal wildlife trade.
CAMPAIGN ACTION AREAS
Protecting
Wildlife and
Natural
Habitats
The illegal wildlife trade starts with animals being taken from their natural habitats, which is why species must be protected. We will do this by working with governments in Africa and elsewhere to support wildlife rangers and Space for Giants’ initiatives to stop poaching. We will also help fund Space for Giants programmes to make at-risk landscapes economically secure, and will work to ensure that local communities achieve sustainable livelihoods from the wildlife living alongside them.
Preventing the Smuggling of Illegal Wildlife
Wildlife traffickers and poachers use a complex and ever-changing combination of smuggling routes and concealment methods to evade detection by enforcement agencies. The crossing of borders a vital point where it can be stopped. This is why it is necessary to identify the means to deter, detect and successfully prosecute wildlife crime. We will work with partners, and help fund programmes, to enhance law enforcement to disrupt and prevent the trade from source to destination countries.
Reducing Demand for Wildlife
The illegal commercial wildlife and wild meat trade heavily exploits wildlife and is depleting populations, putting many species on a path toward extinction. But the dangers extend well beyond threats to biodiversity and the local economic losses from their potential disappearance as the threat of zoonotic transfer risks impacting human health and the global economy on a tremendous scale. That is why we will be working with our campaign partners to generate a greater understanding among potential consumers of the health, economic and ecological impact of illegal wildlife products.
By supporting our campaign, you will help Space for Giants and ESI Media achieve critical impact by:
Protecting wildlife in their natural habitat by supporting field rangers in Africa to effectively fight poaching.
Improving conviction rates and penalties for those involved in wildlife crime in Africa and beyond.
Lobbying the general public and governments in countries with major wildlife markets to both reduce demand for wildlife and put in place new legal provisions to close down associated wildlife markets.
Generating value to ensure critical wildlife habitat is protected, forever.
Tourism has halted, and philanthropic funding for conservation has plummeted.
Without adequate support, guardians of wildlife - from rangers to communities on the frontline - will no longer have the resources they need to fully protect endangered and iconic animals such as elephants from poaching.
“The origins of Covid-19 will remain murky. The conclusions are anything but. The illegal trade of wildlife must end. Along with SARS, it has likely produced two pandemics this century alone. The wildlife trade has devastated ecosystems and corrupted economies in developing countries.”
— Evgeny Lebedev, owner of The Independent, Evening Standard and patron, Space for Giants
“Covid-19 has cut wildlife and nature conservation back to only the most essential services. Even that is at risk. We face a new conservation emergency if we don’t act now to keep up all the pressure we can against the illegal wildlife trade. In some cases, the gains of recent years could be lost in a matter of weeks.”
— Dr Max Graham, founder and CEO, Space for Giants
“Time is running out to save some of the world's most iconic species. Much more needs to be done by key actors on all continents and across sectors to combat poaching and address both the demand and supply of illegal wildlife products."
