The Prince of Wales and his son, The Duke of Cambridge, have filmed an unprecedented seven-minute multilingual plea for people across the globe to help charities in their battle to stop the highly lucrative and equally destructive illegal wildlife trade.
The video message has been released by Prince Charles and Prince William ahead of next week’s London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which both royals will attend.
In the video, both speak emotively about the death of endangered species, including elephants, which the Prince of Wales revealed are being slaughtered at a rate of 100 per day.
"We have come together, as father and son, to lend our voices to the growing global effort to combat the illegal wildlife trade - a trade that has reached such unprecedented levels of killing and related violence that it now poses a grave threat not only to the survival of some of the world's most treasured species, but also to economic and political stability in many areas around the world," he said.
The Duke of Cambridge revealed the birth of his son, Prince George, has fuelled his passion to protect endangered species and their habitats.
"This year, I have become even more devoted to protecting the resources of the Earth for not only my own son but also the other children of his generation to enjoy," said Prince William.
"I want them to be able to experience the same Africa that I did as a child."
But the release of the pre-recorded message, which was filmed at Clarence House in November last year, threatens to be overshadowed following revelations by Britain’s The Sun newspaper.
In an article titled “Bad Wills Hunting” the tabloid reports that on the very weekend Prince William asks the world to end the killing of endangered species, he has flown to Spain on a shooting holiday with younger brother Prince Harry, where the pair will hunt wild boar and stag on the private estate of William’s Godfather, the Duke of Westminster.
(Photo credit: The Sun)
Photo credit: The Sun
The newspaper reports William and Harry are regular visitors to the exclusive Finca La Garganta estate.
While none of the animals the Princes will shoot are protected or endangered, one royal source told SBS the timing of the trip was “poor…even idiotic” and “rightly or wrongly” opened up one of the most popular members of the Royal Family to allegations of hypocrisy.
While Prince Charles used the film to stress “it is our profound belief that humanity is less than humanity without the rest of creation: the destruction of these endangered species will diminish us all” his son stressed the family’s confidence that vulnerable species can be saved if countries stand united in their “battle” against “organised bands of criminals”.
"Despite the terrible crisis that we now face, we both continue to be optimistic that the tide can be reversed. We have to be the generation that stopped the illegal wildlife trade, and secured the future of these magnificent animals, and their habitats, for if we fail, it will be too late,” said Prince William.
Two generations of the Royal Family deliver the video’s catchcry "let's unite for wildlife!" in Arabic, Vietnamese, Swahili, Spanish and Mandarin in order to spread their message in those countries most affected by prolific animal poaching.
Prince Charles and Prince William will attend a variety of events at the conference, which will see leaders from across the world meet to discuss a more coordinated global response to help eradicate the pernicious trade and better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction.
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