The United Nations passed a resolution on Thursday morning committing countries to intensify the fight against wildlife crime, at a time when attention is focused on hunting in Africa after the killing of “Cecil the Lion”.
The resolution treats the issue like organised crime, urging law enforcement agencies to use anti-money laundering measures to go after perpetrators.
Steven Broad, executive director of Traffic, which monitors the trade in wildlife, said: “This is an historic day—the world has sent an unequivocal and collective signal at the highest level that ending wildlife crime is a top priority.”
His group estimates that as many as 30,000 elephants are killed each year for their ivory tusks in Africa.
Rhino poaching in South Africa last year hit a record high, when 1,215 were killed for their horns.
Big profits have attracted highly organised criminal syndicates.
It is the first time the UN has addressed the issue and comes when poaching and the business of hunting in Africa is under intense scrutiny after it emerged that an American dentist paid £35,000 for a permit to bag one of Zimbabwe’s most famous lions.
Zimbabwean police have taken custody of the lion’s head and skin
Theo Bronkhorst, the Zimbabwean professional hunter who supervised the hunt, appeared before a magistrate on Wednesday and was bailed on poaching charges.
The UN resolution encourages countries to “adopt effective measures to prevent and counter the serious problem of crimes that have an impact on the environment, such as illicit trafficking in wildlife and wildlife products…as well as poaching.”
It also spells out how wildlife crime frequently undermines good governance, the rule of law and the well-being of local communities.
Mr Broad said: “The tables are being turned on the organized criminal gangs whose activities undermine national security and sustainable development efforts, threaten some of the world’s iconic wildlife species and put the lives of rangers and many others at risk.”
Article from the Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11774257/UN-steps-up-fight-against-wildlife-crime-as-investigators-probe-death-of-Cecil-the-lion.html