It's time for China to get a grip on the cruel wild-life trade
The Issue
The world's wildlife is under threat from habitat loss, deforestation and global warming, and many species are threatened by extinction. Some of these issues seem so complicated to solve that we feel a sense of powerlessness.
But one of the greatest threats to wildlife can be changed by the will of just one world leader. The Chinese president.
China creates an insatiable demand for rare creatures either for food, or an often misguided belief in their medicinal properties, or for prestigious trinkets. The result is a £13 billion a year illegal network that is stripping the planet of its most cherished creatures.
Every year at least 25,000 African elephants are killed for ivory. Tigers and rhinos are reduced to tiny populations. And populations of bears, lions, pangolins, sharks, manta rays, sea horses, musk deer, snakes and turtles are all under threat. Ivory is carved into 'high status' ornaments. The balance of the world's oceans is changed as a million sharks a year are killed for their fins to make soup, and 150 million sea horses are taken for medicine. 60,000 pangolins or scaly anteaters are taken from Asia and Africa for food and the medicinal properties of their scales...... the list goes on and on. A warped mentality develops in the belief that the rarer the creature, the more valued its properties.
This is a senseless and cruel slaughter, and the growing prosperity of the enormous Chinese population makes these animal products affordable to more and more people. There is no hope of saving these animals without a change in China, and the world will be a poorer place without these wonderful and iconic creatures. Future generations will blame us for their loss.
Time is running out and we appeal to the Chinese President to outlaw the buying and selling of any endangered and threatened species. This needs to be policed effectively with stiff penalties, and at the same time the Chinese citizens need to be educated so that these products are regarded not as an object of status, but of shame.
This trade is also devastating to China's international reputation, but by taking tough and determined action, President Xi Jiping could cement a legacy as an leader whom future generations will speak of with respect, admiration and gratitude.
Petition Closed
The Issue
The world's wildlife is under threat from habitat loss, deforestation and global warming, and many species are threatened by extinction. Some of these issues seem so complicated to solve that we feel a sense of powerlessness.
But one of the greatest threats to wildlife can be changed by the will of just one world leader. The Chinese president.
China creates an insatiable demand for rare creatures either for food, or an often misguided belief in their medicinal properties, or for prestigious trinkets. The result is a £13 billion a year illegal network that is stripping the planet of its most cherished creatures.
Every year at least 25,000 African elephants are killed for ivory. Tigers and rhinos are reduced to tiny populations. And populations of bears, lions, pangolins, sharks, manta rays, sea horses, musk deer, snakes and turtles are all under threat. Ivory is carved into 'high status' ornaments. The balance of the world's oceans is changed as a million sharks a year are killed for their fins to make soup, and 150 million sea horses are taken for medicine. 60,000 pangolins or scaly anteaters are taken from Asia and Africa for food and the medicinal properties of their scales...... the list goes on and on. A warped mentality develops in the belief that the rarer the creature, the more valued its properties.
This is a senseless and cruel slaughter, and the growing prosperity of the enormous Chinese population makes these animal products affordable to more and more people. There is no hope of saving these animals without a change in China, and the world will be a poorer place without these wonderful and iconic creatures. Future generations will blame us for their loss.
Time is running out and we appeal to the Chinese President to outlaw the buying and selling of any endangered and threatened species. This needs to be policed effectively with stiff penalties, and at the same time the Chinese citizens need to be educated so that these products are regarded not as an object of status, but of shame.
This trade is also devastating to China's international reputation, but by taking tough and determined action, President Xi Jiping could cement a legacy as an leader whom future generations will speak of with respect, admiration and gratitude.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 13 March 2016