EU launches Action Plan against wildlife trafficking
March 2, 2016
The European Union is a major destination for the wildlife trade. So the announcement this week of the Action Plan to address the crisis, which plagues species worldwide, was welcomed by WCS President and CEO Cristián Samper.
"Specifically, we are pleased that the Action Plan takes a comprehensive approach to tackling the problem," he said, emphasizing that it includes measures to: reduce the demand for illegal wildlife products; step up enforcement and the fight against organized criminal groups; and substantially increase support to source countries, including much-needed increased financing from EU development aid programs.
"We are also pleased to see," Samper added, "that some first steps will be taken toward more strictly controlling the ivory trade, where action at a global level is urgently needed to halt the devastating declines in African elephant populations that we've seen in recent years."
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