LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William spoke on Tuesday about his “great grandmother” Queen Elizabeth, calling for action to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, saying it is destroying lives and endangering too many species.
In his first speech after being named Prince of Wales after the Queen’s death last month, William told the Wildlife Alliance Global Summit how he was inspired by his father (now King Charles) And concerned about the environment, as well as his grandparents Elizabeth and her late husband Prince Philip.
“Our natural world is one of our greatest assets. This is something I learned from my father and grandfather as a child lessons, they were both staunch naturalists and also learned from my grandmother, who I miss so much, who cared so much about the natural world,” William said.
“In times of loss, it is a comfort to remember those we miss through the work we do,” he said at the summit at London’s Science Museum, from private sector, conservation groups and 300 key figures from law enforcement attended the meeting.
William, who has campaigned on the issue for years, says the world does not have “the luxury of time” to crack down on illegal trade, estimated by the Wildlife Federation. Worth up to $20 billion a year and linked to violent crime, corruption and human trafficking.
An endangered species due to this heinous crime,” he said.
William also paid tribute to Anton Mzimba who was a ranger , who was shot dead in July in a nature reserve in South Africa.
“The devastating news about ranger Anton Mzimba is a shocking testament to the viciousness of the illegal wildlife trade, “He said.
“He stood with violent criminals and paid the ultimate price.” We are right to salute him and all the other selfless rangers and frontline conservationists here today.
(Reporting by Michael Holdend; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
