UK Makes Big Move Against Illegal Wildlife Trade
Date: 19-Jun-03
Country: UK
Author: Jeremy Lovell
The new penalties, in a country widely regarded as being a hub in the global illicit trade, raise jail terms to five years from two, making the offence automatically arrestable.
The new rules will also widen the net to include trade in lucrative items such as Shatoosh shawls, made from the fine hair of Tibetan antelopes, which can sell for up to $25,000, and black rhino horn worth $50,000 a kilo (2.2 pounds).
"I firmly believe that we must address the illegal trade in endangered species as a matter of urgency," food and environment minister Elliot Morley said.
"Only then can we ensure that those wildlife criminals who cynically exploit our world's most endangered species...are properly punished. It is my belief that a five year prison sentence will also act as a significant deterrent," he added.
The World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said the new rules would help stamp out the world trade in endangered species -- much of which came through Britain.
"This change in the law will have a lasting impact for endangered species all over the world," said David Cowdrey, director of WWF's Wildlife Trade Campaign.
"Making these offences arrestable will provide police officers with the powers they need to close down the illegal markets here in the U.K. and should act as a real deterrent to those involved in the illegal wildlife trade," he added.
WWF said that globally hundreds of millions of plants and animals, worth billions of pounds, were traded illegally each year, threatening the survival of many species such as tigers, snow leopards, bears and some plants.
Steven Broad, Executive Director of wildlife watchdog group TRAFFIC, also welcomed the announcement.
"The deterrent effect of these increased powers and penalties is incredibly significant," he said.
