16 Aug 2007 - London,
UK – WWF is urging British tourists to be
vigilant about buying wildlife souvenirs
this summer when travelling abroad.
Coral, elephant ivory carvings, traditional
Chinese medicine and snake skin accessories
are among the top ten illegal wildlife trade
items being brought back to the UK as souvenirs.
Last year, British customs officials confiscated
more than 163,000 illegal wildlife trade
items, many made from highly endangered
species. This included: 158,000 illegal
plants such as orchids and cyads; 221 elephant
ivory and skin products; and 959 live reptiles
such as snakes, chameleons, tortoises and
terrapins.
“Many tourists could be unwittingly helping
to push some of the world’s most endangered
species to the brink of extinction, all
for the sake of an exotic souvenir,” said
Heather Sohl, a wildlife trade officer at
WWF-UK.
“Although the latest figures indicate that
some illegal wildlife trade items are being
brought in knowingly by wildlife criminals,
the majority of seizures appear to be items
innocently brought back by holidaymakers
as souvenirs.”
“Our message is ‘if in doubt don’t buy’,”
she stressed.
Under the UN’s Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), 827
species of animals and plants are currently
banned from international trade and a further
32,840 strictly controlled. These include
many corals, reptiles and orchids as well
as the more obvious tigers, rhinos, turtles
and elephants.
WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring
network, are urging people to report anything
suspicious to their national wildlife officials
that could be linked to illegal wildlife
trade in the UK and abroad.
“We need the public’s help to stamp out
the illegal wildlife trade, not only to
help protect endangered species but the
anti poaching officers worldwide who put
their lives on the line fighting wildlife
crime,” Sohl said.
END NOTES:
The Top Ten illegal wildlife crime items
as seized by British customs officials between
2006-07 were:
1. Traditional Chinese medicine (containing
endangered species including tiger, rhino,
seahorse, deer musk)
2. Snake and lizard products
3. Alligator/crocodile products
4. Plants (including orchids, cycads and
cacti)
5. Live reptiles (including snakes, lizards,
chameleons, iguanas, tortoises and terrapins)
6. Caviar (amounts over 250g)
7. Coral
8. Elephant ivory and skin products
9. Queen conch shells
10. Animal skin products or stuffed animals
Alison Sutton, Senior Press Officer
WWF-UK
