Stop The Wildlife Trade: This must end... for the safety of us all

Evening Standard proprietor Evgeny Lebedev on why the world must learn a crucial lesson post virus

Today I am issuing a call to action to tackle the illegal wildlife trade worldwide. It is a subject close to my heart and represents an urgent mission to learn from past mistakes and to secure the future of this planet.

The coronavirus, which has devastated the economy, killed hundreds of thousands and halted the march of progress on issues like the environment, was preventable. It very likely emerged from a live market in China, where rare animals like pangolins and wild animals like bats were sold.

Over the past few months The Independent has discovered other such markets across Asia. Our expanded campaign, led by both the Evening Standard and Independent, to end these practices will be for the benefit of both humanity and the natural world.

That is why we are calling on individuals, experts and organisations to contact us on how we can work together to end this hazard.

We are calling on individuals, experts and organisations to contact us on how we can work together to end this hazard

I was raised by my grandfather Vladimir Sokolov, who was the head of biology at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. He was one of the pioneers of the environmental movement and one of the early global sustainability advocates. I have wonderful memories of him introducing me to all manner of exotic animals to delight me as a child.

But wildlife are not simply extras in a human play, and the pangolin is an exemplary and tragic case. Poaching has reduced it to an endangered species. There is an uncomfortable symmetry here: the trade that has decimated pangolin numbers has returned to attack humans.

A pangolin
AP

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 produced two pandemics this century. The wildlife trade has devastated eco-systems and corrupted economies.

To this end, the Evening Standard and Independent have partnered with the wildlife charity Space for Giants, of which I am patron. Space for Giants is a world-renowned conservation organisation that works across Africa to protect elephants from poaching. With the help of readers, we succeeded in 2014 in raising £500,000 to combat the ivory trade and to protect affected communities.

A vendor selling meat to customers at a market in Beijing in January
AFP via Getty Images

Space for Giants administers protected areas, employs rangers and works with governments to defend wildlife and crack down on wildlife criminals. It has contributed to a reduction of 84 per cent in poaching in Laikipia County, Kenya. It will be our eyes and ears on the ground in this campaign.

Our #StopTheWildlifeTrade campaign is ambitious and broad. We will work to spread awareness about the scale and risks of this situation — and change attitudes among consumers. We will raise funds to support the vital conservation work of Space for Giants. And we will co-operate with agencies and governments around the world to lead an international effort to regulate the illegal trade of wild animals.

Our co-operation will and must extend to the governments of Asia, from which much of the demand for animal parts comes. This demand is often based on a traditional, outdated understanding of medicine.

We live in the 21st century: bear bile, pangolin scales and rhino horn are no match for modern medicine. But most Chinese people are on our side and are as horrified by the wildlife trade as we are, the polls have shown.

Asian governments will be our partners in this campaign, and have been as badly impacted by the coronavirus as we have. I extend an olive branch to them: let’s work together on this.

The UK is hosting the Convention on Climate Change next year. China is due to host the Convention on Biological Diversity later this year. Commitments from both of these conferences on the illegal wildlife trade would be a strong basis for a crucial diplomatic relationship.

It is hard to think of a metropolis that has been hit harder than London by this pandemic. Over 6,000 have died in our capital.

Together we can overcome this threat, to ensure our city and our planet are safer in the future

But Londoners are a strong and forward-looking people. Together we can overcome this threat, to ensure our city and our planet are safer in the future.

Among so many other things, my grandfather taught me to respect wildlife. It has informed my conservation work. I like to think he would be proud of this initiative to protect nature — and would join me today to ask for your help.

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