On the 2nd March 2016 Catherine Bearder MEP hosted the launch of the EU’s Action Plan against Wildlife Crime at the Yehudi Menuhin space in the European Parliament.

The audience included MEPs For Wildlife members Benedek Jávor MEP, Stefan Eck MEP, Marco Affronte MEP and Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP. Also in attendance were delegates from the Jane Goodall Institute, BirdLife, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the World Wildlife Fund, the Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the European Union, The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, the Institute for European Environmental Policy and many others.

The evening began with a panel discussion comprising of Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP as Chair, Veronique Lorenzo from DG DEVCO, Mark Jones from Born Free, Janice Weatherley-Singh from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Dagmar Zíková from the Czech Republic Permanent Representation to the EU.

Following panellist introductions, the Chair invited questions from the audience. Questions were asked by Emma McClarkin MEP, Benedek Jávor MEP and a representative from the World Wildlife Forum.

Once the panel ended high-level speeches were made by Catherine Bearder MEP, Commissioner Karmenu Vella and Mette Løyche Wilkie, Director at the Division of Environmental Policy Implementation at the United Nations Environment Programme.

Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP introduced the National Geographic documentary “Warlords of Ivory” which was then watched by the audience.