AnimalVoicesNews
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Source/Letters: CNN.com <http://
edition.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?12>
Link: <http://
www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/23/boderek.wildlifetraffickers/index.html>
updated 3:40 p.m. EDT, Wed October 24, 2007
Bo Derek: We all must battle
wildlife traffickers
By Bo Derek
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Bo Derek is an actress who starred in the movie "10." Most
recently, she starred in the series "Fashion House." She is also an activist
working extensively to raise awareness of the costs of wildlife trafficking.
She submitted this commentary to CNN's Larry King Live
Actress Bo Derek is working with conservation groups and the U.S government
to help fight wildlife traffickers.
SANTA YNEZ, California (CNN) -- When I first visited the Galapagos Islands
Marine Reserve, I expected to see an untouched paradise. While it is still
beautiful to the naked eye, behind the scenes, all is not well. While there,
I learned that the famous sharks of the Galapagos were under siege for their
fins.
According to the Galapagos National Park Service, up to 10,000 fins have
been seized, and they are mercilessly hacked off the shark and shipped to
Asia to make shark fin soup.
I was charmed by the playfulness of the fearless and friendly sea lions I
swam with. I learned that they, too, are sometimes slaughtered so they can
be used as bait for the shark "finners."
It made me realize that even the most remote wilderness is now touched by
the global economy -- in this case, the demand for products derived from
protected wildlife.
That is why I have been working with the State Department and the San
Francisco-based conservation organization, WildAid <http://
www.wildaid.org/index.asp?CID=1>, to help in their effort to stop wildlife
traffickers.
The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth $10 billion to $20
billion a year, according to the U.S. State Department, and it traffics in
all wild things from shark fins to elephant ivory, from rare orchids to
valuable timber. It leaves behind a catalog of species on the brink of
extinction and millions of animals suffering either a brutal death or
inhumane transportation, and it poses a serious risk of transmission of
diseases like avian flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
Since becoming involved, I have been appalled to learn there may be only
3,000 tigers surviving in the wild, according to a survey from India's
government. A 2006 report from the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources says that's down from about 100,000 tigers
just 100 years ago.
If they and other precious wildlife are to survive, there has to be a
change. Not only do the governments of the world need to redouble their
protection efforts, but we must end the demand that drives this trade.
The war on drugs has graphically demonstrated that focusing on enforcement
and interdiction is not the only key to victory in this fight. We must also
educate people and reduce demand for these products.
In the key markets, like China, awareness is so low that, according to a
Chinese wildlife conservation association survey, 75 percent of people
didn't know that the popular "fish wing soup" eaten by 35 percent of urban
Chinese last year was made from shark fin, and many thought the fins grew
back.
Reaching China's 1.2 billion people is no easy task, but by recruiting the
likes of Yao Ming, Jackie Chan and Chinese Olympic medalists as eloquent and
passionate advocates, and with the support of Chinese state media, we are
reaching nearly half the Chinese population with TV, messaging, "when the
buying stops, the killing can, too."
© 2007 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
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Judy Reed
AnimalVoices
Speaking For Animals & Their Environment
This is distibuted for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.
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