It’s World Wildlife Day on 3 March. This year, the event coincides with the 50th anniversary of the global wildlife trading body. World Wildlife Day is an annual celebration of the wild animals and plants that people share the planet with and depend on. With this year’s celebration also marking the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’s (CITES) anniversary, it should also be a time of particular reflection – and change.
A recent report about trade in our near kin, non-human primates, illustrates well why this is the case.
The Extinction Business
The EMS Foundation is a South African nonprofit. It focuses on addressing the needs of vulnerable groups, including wild animals. In conjunction with another organisation, Ban Animal Trading, EMS released the latest instalment of a series titled “The Extinction Business” on 22 February.
The series takes a deep dive into the international wildlife trade, particularly in relation to South Africa. The latest part is titled “Our Kin Discarded” and is focused on South Africa’s trade in non-human primates.
To continue reading this story, please follow this link to the Canary, which originally published the article.
Featured image via Jean / Flickr, cropped to 700×403, licensed under CC BY 2.0