The illegal wildlife trade is a billion dollar criminal industry. Animals, like rhinos, are being brutally killed and traded for their body parts. This insatiable demand for wild animals is driving species like the rhino to the brink of extinction. For other species it’s already too late.
We wish that London’s specialist Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) police weren’t needed, but sadly enforcement bodies like them are on the frontline of the fight against animal extinction.
This is not a faraway problem:
- The Metropolitan Police has seized over 30,000 endangered species items since 1995.
- In 2008 the Metropolitan Police seized thousands of pounds worth of raw ivory products, some manufactured in the UK, which included 24 whole elephant tusks.
- One of the world’s largest seizures of rhino horn, worth more than twice its weight in gold, was in London.
The work of the WCU officers can seem insurmountable, and is often dangerous. Encouragement from you can make a real difference so please send a message of support to them using the form opposite.