My name is Kohl Langedahl. I am living in Saskatchewan, Canada and I am 17 years old. I am a bystander for a serious crime that is called illegal wildlife trade. My whole goal with this petition is to bring awareness to this very serious crime that is affecting our country and many other countries around the world and the one that you live in and also bring new laws that protect non endangered species and harsher ones for endangered species. Illegal wildlife trade is important to me because it affects our planet's biodiversity and also is one of the leading causes of animal extinction.

 Did you know that about 60% of animal species have been a part of illegal wildlife trade and over 80% of endangered species are targeted for illegal wildlife trade 

There is currently nobody that advocates for this crime. There are only a few organizations that try to help raise awareness to this crime but nobody is doing anything to stop it. This is my petition to stop this crime.

Illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest transactional crime in the world today. It is ranked fourth behind Counterfeiting, Drug trafficking and human trafficking. 

Illegal wildlife trade is deeply linked to these crimes and is usually what funds other major crimes that are listed.

Illegal wildlife trade is important because it is killing our planet and our biodiversity that we need to live. When people hear about illegal wildlife trade they think about the killing of animals and being sold on the black market but most of the animals are actually tortured or used for product testing.

It only starts with one to make the change. IT STARTS WITH YOU

The few organizations that have been raising awareness for illegal wildlife trade are. The IFAW, WWF, and Traffic. The IFWA or known as the the International Fund for Animal Welfare is a global non profit organization that helps animals and people thrive together.  They are experts and everyday people, working across seas, oceans and in more than 40 countries around the world. 

The WWF or world wildlife federation is an independent conservation organization, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity.

This is a call to action, don't take it for granted. 

5 Steps that you can take to bring awareness to illegal wildlife trade.

1. Donate to an organization to help them fight this crime.
2. Familiarize yourself with illegal wildlife trade and google what it is.
3. Inform other people about illegal wildlife trade as it is one of the least known about crimes
4. Be an advocate like me. Make news about it post the importance of illegal wildlife trade on social media as it is the number 1 way people get information.
5. Sign this petition, With every signature is one step closer to the end of this crime that is destroying.
   So please take the five seconds to sign this you read this far may as well sign it. 

Take this as a call to action, a call to save a call to save an animal's life.

IT STARTS WITH YOU. so be the change in the world today.