Tag: CITES

Making the right choice to protect animals

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Businesses will soon be required to adopt procedures that assess the environmental consequences of their decisions, specifically with an aim to minimise impact and act to better protect nature.

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Ultimately this recognises that Nature is everyone’s business – and that businesses, as well as the rest of society, must play their part to reverse nature loss. While that sounds the right thing to do, navigating the complexities of the topic(s), to select and apply positively impactful outputs, is far from simple. In fact, it can give rise to many conflicts or dilemmas, such as – what should I try to protect, what are the priority issues, and how to decide actions towards set goal(s) when these may also affect progress towards others?

Protecting wildlife and nature is increasingly defined by our individual values. For instance, are we protecting species and ecosystems, of which wild animals form a key part, for our own sustainable use, or should wild places be left alone with little human interference? Equally, should we only consider wild species as numbers, such as the population of tigers, or should we give greater value to the wellbeing of each individual animal?

I certainly have my own views and values, but when it comes to me providing impartial guidance to Travel & Tourism professionals who wish to support wildlife conservation, I aim to provide information and an overview of opinions to allow informed decisions. Ultimately, the decision what or whom to support resigns with you and your business, but there are some fundamental considerations that I would always encourage before a decision is made.

To navigating this rocky path, I would suggest considering the following ethical perspectives to help you make your informed decision on business actions to protect animals and nature:

Sustainable viewpoint – animals and nature are essentially a resource for human use, the ethical constraint of protective measures is to make sure that wildlife can be used sustainably. For instance, CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species) manages legal wildlife trade, only restricting trade if a species is threatened with extinction.

Utilitarian viewpoint – aiming for the best outcome overall by considering both the negative and positive implications. Since animals can suffer if their circumstances negatively impact on their welfare needs, animal welfare should always be considered, even if the animals are in the wild. This perspective can have significant implications for wildlife management, particularly if the animals are causing harm to the people or the natural environment. Opting for a humane approach in all scenarios is our moral obligation.

Animal rights viewpoint – recognises that humans and other animals share physical, biological, and mental similarities, and we should not kill, confine, or otherwise interfere in their lives. This perspective considers the rights of humans and animals in equal measure.

Respect for nature viewpoint – protecting the ‘integrity’ of species, or overall biodiversity, where the protection of species in the ecosystem, to maintain functioning ecosystems, is prioritised. While invasive species that threaten either native species, or ecosystem health, should be removed or killed.

Local viewpoint – consideration for species that are particularly important for the sustainable development of the local community. Whereby animal and plant species, wild or modified, provide vital services or materials, or have a spiritual or cultural importance.

You have probably aligned yourself, or your business, with one of the above perspectives – and that’s not a bad thing. Although from my experience, while each of these ‘viewpoints’ present valuable insights, I would propose a combination of these perspectives when considering your wildlife and nature protection priorities. That way you are applying the necessary due diligence, considering the likely conflicts and dilemmas, before deciding the right choice for you, or your business.

In my opinion, it should not be all about sustainable use, for example. Sustainability does not necessarily mean an activity is responsible and does not cause unnecessary harm. While we do need to ensure our use of wildlife does cause its extinction, we must surely recognise that animals can suffer, and actions must be taken to protect an individual’s welfare whatever the overall goal.

Whatever you decide, I imagine you will agree, that whichever path and perspectives you adopt, it should aim to protect people, animals, and planet.

» Find out more about how businesses can support wildlife and nature conservation
» Keen to learn how to Protect Animals and Nature in tourism?
» Want to discover your business’ Animal Footprint?

Daniel Turner, Director ANIMONDIAL

Save nature; save ourselves

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Last week I set about drafting the monthly blog for ANIMONDIAL with a focus on “Endangered Species Day” (15 May), to acknowledge its 15th Year Anniversary, but it wasn’t working for me. As I pondered how to bring together so many interconnecting streams of thought, I soon became embroiled in a complexity of message – as opposed to practical application. The protection of threatened species, ecosystems, and global biodiversity sounds good on paper, but advice and guidance to help the spectrum of different businesses to fulfil such broad objectives is often lacking.

In the travel and tourism sector, various policy incentives exist, but few include supportive guidance and viable actions that would be applicable to small to medium-sized businesses. I hope that this blog will go some way in helping travel businesses play their part.

On “Endangered Species Day”, we are reminded of the importance of protecting species, particularly those classified as ‘endangered’. These are species whose population has declined between 50 and 70% with the decline measured over 10 years or three generations of the species, whichever is longer. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global authority that determines species’ conservation status, there are more than 31,000 species threatened with extinction1. That’s almost a third of all assessed animal and plant species on Earth! Moreover, with each species having relevance within a wider fabric of interconnecting relationships (commonly referred to as ‘Nature’), a loss of a species could well result in a greater loss of biodiversity. Since the inauguration of “Endangered Species Day” (2006), the number of threatened species has doubled!

Biodiversity loss is primarily a result of two factors: the loss of natural habitat and a loss in genetic variance. Both occur naturally, but it is the relentless intensity of human activity that continues to have the greatest impact. The removal of vast areas of native habitat for industry, housing and agricultural development, soil degradation from overuse and pollution, to the overhunting and poaching of wildlife, are all considered major drivers in species displacement and extinction.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranks biodiversity loss in the top five threats humanity will have to face in the next ten years. In a recently published report2, it acknowledges that “Nature underpins our prosperity and wellbeing by providing economic value and security, supporting human development and equality, and increasing our resilience to climate change.” In economic terms, Nature is believed to have an estimated economic value generation of US$44 trillion (that’s over half of the world’s total GDP). However, despite this, humanity’s negative impact on other species, ecosystems, and global biodiversity is not only contributing to the Climate Change Crisis but, also increasing the occurrence of animal-to-human (zoonotic) infectious disease (e.g. COVID-19)3. This demonstrable connection between the health of animals, natural ecosystems and the health and welfare of humans was a focus of my March 2020 blog.

Humanity appears to be destroying the very resource we should value the most. We must therefore act now to save nature; to save ourselves.

Many people are wondering when life will get back to ‘normal’ after the COVID-19 crisis. Can we not use this opportunity to learn from our mistakes and build something better?

I realise these are already difficult times for the travel and tourism sector but, perhaps there is no better time to take stock and review previous operations – to return more efficient and effective. Importantly, ‘sustainability’ can no longer be regarded as an ‘aim to have’, but an integral component of all that we do. Tourism needs to review its relationship with animals and nature. Specifically, to identify, measure and better manage (or even to minimise) negative impact.

Simply adopting an in-office policy to “recycle, reuse and reduce” should no longer be considered enough to reverse nature’s demise and ensure our future security. Instead, this kind of initiative must be one of many within a multifaceted, strategic approach to optimise output. Involving all departments within your business as well as stakeholders across the supply chain.

Knowing that something needs to be done is the first step towards success, but knowing what to do and how to do it, is often the issue. ANIMONDIAL, the global tourism consultancy specialising in responsible animal tourism, is here to help cut through the complexity to identify tangible actions that are right for your business.

What can I do to better manage my impact on animals and the natural world?

Reduce your company’s negative impact on nature

  • Adopt animal welfare and protection principles, advocated by ANIMONDIAL and the ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines4, and offer only responsible tourism activities with animals and respectful wildlife viewing practices that uphold good welfare standards. Receive a bespoke service from ANIMONDIAL.
  • Evaluate all your tourism activities / experiences that involve animals to identify and measure risk, end inappropriate activity, and seek to improve standards in animal welfare.
  • Discourage your suppliers from sourcing animals from the wild; unless there is a demonstrable and justifiable conservation need. If in doubt, contact the national CITES Management Authority5.
  • De-list tourism activities / experiences that involve the hunting of wild-born or captive-bred animals for the purposes of sport, trophy, or entertainment.
  • Request that your suppliers do not commercially trade, breed or exploit their animals (this includes zoos, aquaria, animal sanctuaries, rescue centres and orphanages6).
  • Product procurement teams and Destination Management Companies should inform all suppliers to ensure they do not sell or promote the sale of any of these unsustainable wildlife products. Refer to the European Commission’s Wildlife Souvenir’s Guide7 and use tools to identify threatened species7,8.
  • Ask your customers not to pick up, collect or buy animals or parts of animals (including corals, sponges, shells, etc.) or plants (including orchids, seeds, seedlings, etc.) from the wild. Use online tools to identify the conservation status of the species involved1,7,8.
  • Ask your airline partners not to transport live animals, trophies or products derived from animal or plant species that are listed under CITES Appendix I or classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ or ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.

Invest in protecting and restoring nature

  • Audit all of your tourism activities / experiences that involve animals or that take place in Nature to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with your adopted animal welfare and protection principles. ANIMONDIAL partner, Preverisk9, provides endorsed animal protection auditing.
  • Adopt a fresh approach to managing associated risk and addressing persistent challenges by investing in solutions as an alternative to the ‘stop sale’ that modify product and tackle poor animal welfare standards. Contact ANIMONDIAL if you are interested in supporting our initiatives to better protect Asian elephants, cetaceans, turtles, and more in tourism.
  • Support financially or in-kind projects and organisations that genuinely protect animals and or Nature. Contact ANIMONDIAL to access its list of trusted, community-based animal protection initiatives10.

Collaborate with others to make a difference

  • Sign up and contribute to the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce11; the WTTC BA Declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade; and the IWT Zero Tolerance Policy12, and work with ROUTES’13 support to implement your commitments.
  • Sign up to the World Economic Forum’s Business For Nature initiative, working with governments to reverse nature loss by 2030.

Changing our relationship with nature is too great an issue to be left to the scientists and policymakers. We must all take responsibility, end destructive activity, and strive to return what we have lost. Business (no matter the size) has a crucial role to play, by putting nature at the core of their activity and decision-making, assessing, mitigating, and managing animal and nature-related risk.

ANIMONDIAL is here to help you identify tangible actions that are right for your business.

To help ANIMONDIAL help your business better protect threatened species, ecosystems, and global biodiversity, we want to hear from you! Please complete this 2 minute survey and receive a FREE Animal Protection Health Check. Looking forward to hearing from you.

  1. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ https://www.iucnredlist.org/
  2. World Economic Forum (2020) Global Risk Report https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2020
  3. World Economic Forum (2020) COVID-19 and nature are linked. So should be the recovery.
    https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/covid-19-nature-deforestation-recovery/
  4. ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines 2019 https://www.abta.com
  5. UNEP-WCMC & CITES Secretariat, providing information on C US Fish and Wildlife Service, CITES permits and certificates https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/factsheet-cites-permits-and-certificates-2013.pdf
  6. ANIMONDIAL (2019) Animal sanctuaries: more than just a name
    https://animondial.com/animal-sanctuaries-more-than-just-a-name
  7. European Commission, The Wildlife Souvenirs Guide https://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/info_souvenirs_en.htm
  8. CITES-listed species https://speciesplus.net/
  9. ANIMONDIAL (2020) Preverisk https://animondial.com/partners
  10. ANIMONDIAL (2020) Animal Protection Network https://animondial.com/animal-protection-network
  11. United for Wildlife Declaration https://www.unitedforwildlife.org/the-buckingham-palace-declaration/
  12. WTTC (2018) BA Declaration on illegal wildlife trade https://wttc.org/Initiatives/Sustainable-Growth/illegal-wildlife-trade
  13. The USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership https://routespartnership.org/

Daniel Turner, Director ANIMONDIAL