What is the problem?

Endangered species products of many different kinds are on sale on the streets of London. The trade in endangered species is illegal in the UK unless the seller can show that the item on sale is an antique or a licence permitting sale has been issued by the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Yet, in Operation Charm, the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit has seized more than 30,000 endangered species items in London in the last ten years. Many of these are what could be described as fashion or decorative items including:

• Shahtoosh shawls - made from the fine wool of the Tibetan antelope, or 'Chiru', whose numbers have plummeted to less than 70,000 mainly as a result of demand for their wool. Three or four animals are killed to make each shawl. (link to siaga page)
• Ivory carvings - decorative ornaments and jewellery are made from elephant tusks, hippo teeth and whale bones or teeth (called 'scrimshaw').
• Elephant tusks - whole tusks of African or Asian elephants are found illegally on offer for sale in London. African elephants were particularly hard hit in the 1980s when an estimated 100,000 individuals were being killed per year for their ivory. It is now believed that just 470,000 to 690,000 African elephants survive today in the wild and only 25,600 to 33,000 Asian elephants remain.
• Fur coats made from big cats - all of which are protected from trade including tigers, leopard, snow leopard and ocelot. Wild tiger numbers are now estimated at only approximately 3,200 worldwide.
• Animal skins and taxidermy - taxidermy is legal in itself, but not if the animals are endangered or face extinction if trade in these species is uncontrolled.

All of these products are on sale in London because people still buy them. It is our money that is driving this trade and if we continue to buy, the poachers and traffickers will make a killing!

Local action can have a global impact. If we stop buying products made from endangered species, we can help to stop the trade. Together we can fight wildlife crime in London and what we do here can help to protect endangered species all over the world. It's up to us.