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ABTA joins IFAW's campaign to tackle wildlife souvenir trade

5 September 2006 / IFAW

New poll reveals alarming scale of Britons buying animal trinkets abroad

The British travel industry has pledged to support a new global campaign by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to save endangered species from a devastating trade in wildlife souvenirs.

Threatened species, including elephants, rhinos, leopards and turtles, are being slaughtered internationally - and mostly illegally - to feed a growing trade that turns ivory, fur, claws, teeth and shells into holiday trinkets. A YouGov poll, carried out for IFAW and published today, reveals that more than 600,000 Britons alone have returned from holidays abroad with wildlife souvenirs, including ivory, in the past five years.

The wildlife souvenir trade is thriving because of widespread confusion and ignorance about wildlife protection laws among travellers. "Most of these souvenirs are being bought unwittingly simply because travellers are confused by the complex laws governing trade in wild animals or because they just aren't aware of them," says IFAW wildlife campaigner Nikki Kelly. "Worse still, wildlife souvenirs are often sold so openly abroad many tourists mistakenly believe they must be legal."

To crack the wildlife souvenir trade IFAW is today launching an international awareness campaign, urging travellers to 'Think Twice' and avoid buying wild animal trinkets when on holiday. The influential Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has promised full support, with celebrities including Sir David Jason, Steve Leonard, Chris Tarrant, Shauna Lowry and Twiggy also backing the campaign.

In particular IFAW will be strongly targeting travellers to South Africa, the destination of nearly 500,000 British tourists annually, where a rampant souvenir trade is endangering wildlife not only in South Africa, but in Western and Central Africa, as well as countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe. A recent undercover investigation by IFAW in South Africa revealed that souvenirs made from elephant ivory and hair, sharks' teeth, lion and cheetah claws, porcupine quills and zebra skin are being extensively, openly and often illegally sold in airports, markets and curio shops, to be brought back to the UK.

While not all come from protected species, this trade raises serious animal welfare as well as conservation concerns. The sale of porcupine quills, for example, is not illegal but the vast quantity of quills being used in the manufacture of curios and decorative items indicates that porcupines are being killed in their thousands to supply this market.

ABTA has pledged to brief the 6,500 UK travel agents and 850 tour operators that it represents about IFAW's campaign and to warn the 1.2 million people visiting its website annually about the wildlife trinket trade and to inform travellers which wildlife souvenirs to avoid buying. "The destruction being caused to wildlife just for the sake of souvenirs has alarmed us, not least because tourism is among the world's fastest growing businesses," says Keith Richards, ABTA's Head of Consumer Affairs.

"We encourage our members to raise awareness by giving advice to their customers on souvenirs that should be avoided in holiday destinations around the world. We'd also encourage tour reps to be briefed to mention the 'Think Twice' campaign in the meetings they have with holidaymakers in key destinations. Unless the travel industry acts now some of the very animals so many people go abroad to see may soon only be found on our mantelpieces or in our jewellery boxes."

IFAW UK's Director Robbie Marsland says: "Tourists need to remember if they don't buy, animals won't die. If 600,000 British tourists are bringing back parts of dead animals as souvenirs think how many millions must be dying internationally. It's far better to buy alternative mementos, such as local handicrafts instead of items that harm the very animals that people have travelled so far to see".

For more information, or high-quality photographs, or please contact:

Rosa Hill, IFAW press officer, tel: 020 7587 6715; mob: 07801 613 530; email: rhill@ifaw.org or Carol McKenna on 020 7587 6714; 07979 805169 or email: cmckenna@ifaw.org

Spokespeople from both ABTA and IFAW are available for interview.

Notes to editors:

1. IFAW is launching its Think Twice South Africa campaign throughout the UK, Germany, The Netherlands and South Africa. The launch of the campaign has been timed to co-ordinate with the distribution of materials (tickets, etc) by European travel agents & tour operators in the lead up to the peak holiday season in South Africa, beginning in November.

2. YouGov poll carried out for IFAW included interviews with 2301 GB adults of which 1804 had travelled overseas within the last five years. Interviews were carried out between June 26 and 28 2006. 26% of those people who had travelled overseas within the last five years saw one or more of the items mentioned in our questions. The item most commonly seen was coral (16%), followed by reptile skin items (14%), animal teeth, claws or jaws (12%), elephant items (8%) and sea turtle shell (5%).
   
   7% of the people who had seen the items purchased one or more of them. This represents one and a half per cent of the total sample of people who travelled abroad during the past five years. To give an idea of what this means nationally in the UK it means that some 600,000 people purchased the listed wildlife products abroad as souvenirs or gifts. The items purchased by the people polled included elephant items – including ivory, coral, animal teeth, claws or jaws, wild animal skins and reptile skins.

3. The UK is the leading country of origin of overseas travellers to South Africa, on average responsible for nearly 25 per cent of South Africa's foreign tourists. The peak season for tourism in South Africa

4. Global trade in wild animals and plants is regulated by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Over 160 countries are signatories, which prohibits trade in the most endangered species (Appendix I) and strictly controls trade in other species that may be threatened by trade. Britons bringing wildlife items home illegally face a jail term of up to seven years and an unlimited fine

5. Between 2000 and 2004 HM Customs & Excise figures show that 178 wildlife items were seized from people returning from South Africa including 28 crocodile items, 15 elephant items and 14 zebra items. Conservationists fear the true figure of people returning with illegal items is much higher than official figures reveal, due to lack of enforcement resources.

6. ABTA represents more than 6,500 UK travel agents and 850 tour operators. See www.abta.com for further information.

7. Wildlife pledge: IFAW is asking members of the public to support the 'Think Twice' campaign by pledging online not to purchase wildlife souvenirs on holiday. The pledge is at www.ifaw.org/uk/thinktwice