African grey parrots
As many as 1.3 million grey parrots have been poached from African forests, putting this species on the brink of extinction. Now protected, traders use the legal trade in green parrots to traffic them to global markets.
Global wildlife trade
Wildlife
The wildlife trade is built on cruelty and a hotbed for deadly diseases. Let’s end it.
Every day, thousands of animals are forced into the multi-billion pound global trade in wildlife. They’re sold as pets, used for traditional medicine, killed for food or fashion, or forced into a life of suffering in entertainment.
Wild animals don’t belong to us, they belong in the wild. Keeping them in captivity causes immense harm and creates huge risks for people too.
Animals are bred, trapped and hunted, and kept in horrific conditions that cause unimaginable suffering. This fuels ‘zoonotic’ diseases like COVID-19 and SARS, that can jump from animals to humans with the potential to cause deadly outbreaks.
We can no longer ignore the dangers of the global wildlife trade. Three out of five emerging infectious diseases come from animals, and 70% of these are thought to come from wild animals.
The scale of the cruelty
This grim trade is forcing many millions of wild animals to endure lives of pain, abuse, exploitation and putting species at risk.
Asiatic black bears
Wild animals such as Asiatic black bears are farmed for their bile to be used in traditional medicine. The torturous routine and terrible conditions they endure can make them sick with infections, diseases and chronic distress.
Ball pythons
More than 3 million ball pythons have been exported from West Africa to Europe, Asia and North America over the past 45 years. They suffer for life, from the moment they’re caught or born at breeding facilities.
The UK should lead the way
This is urgent: we must stop the global wildlife trade now to protect wild animals, safeguard our environment and help prevent future global health crises.
We’re calling on the UK government to secure a global wildlife trade ban, and end the import and export of wild animals and wild animal products in the UK.
Our petition to end the global wildlife trade has already reached hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Now, we’re planning the next phase of our campaign.
Will you help? Sign up for emails to hear how you can help protect wild animals from abuse and exploitation.
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