Industry associations form alliance against illegal trade in wildlife

More than 60 participants attended the joint meeting held today, which included representatives from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), China Express Association and other national and international organisations, such as TRAFFIC, and media representatives from Xinhua and People’s Daily.

Mr Li Qingwen, Secretary General of the CWCA, spoke of the long-term efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade in China and the need for participation from relevant industries along the whole trade chain. 

He said the establishment of an alliance against illegal wildlife trade would encourage more enterprises and their employees to join and take action. 

In video addresses, representatives of the Catering Association, courier company EMS and online platform Baidu made commitments about, respectively, refusing to cook wild meat, delivering illegal wildlife products, and deterring wildlife cybercrime, with timely reporting of relevant information to relevant law enforcement agencies. 

Baidu is a member of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online while EMS, alongside another 13 courier/logistics companies has previously signed a Voluntary Code of Practice to Refuse Delivery of Illegal Wildlife and Products Thereof to underline their commitment to curbing illegal trade in wild animals and plants and protect endangered wildlife species and biodiversity.

Mr. Zhao Runhuai, Deputy Secretary General of ACTCM, read out the proposal to establish the alliance on behalf of all industry associations and promised:

1. "Zero tolerance" of illegal trade in wild animals and plants;
2. To carry out effective self-regulation of activities against illegal trade in wild animals and plants;
3, To organize industry training to improve vigilance to detect and deter the illegal trade of wild animals and plants;
4. Actively to support and co-operate with law enforcement departments to counter illegal wildlife trade;
5. Consciously to accept social supervision, rectify problems reflected by the public in the industry, and improve social credibility;
6. Actively to carry out various forms of publicity activities, advocate sustainable and healthy  consumption, and promote the construction of ecological civilisation.

Representatives of the China Hotel Association, China Flower Association, China Express Association, China Cuisine Association, China Meat Association, China Aquatic Products Circulation and Processing Association, China Wildlife Conservation Association, China Wild Plant Conservation Association and China Traditional Chinese Medicine Association all signed the commitment in turn.

On the same day, the NFGA also held the third meeting of the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference on Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade to plan their action to combat wildlife trafficking.

Xu Ling, Director of TRAFFIC’s China office, said: "The COVID-19 human health crisis that has swept the globe has also caused unprecedented concern in wildlife conservation circles. 

“Curtailing the illegal trade of wild animals and plants and create a scientific, healthy and civilised lifestyle has become a common concern across all sectors of society.

“TRAFFIC appreciates the efforts made by the Chinese government and various industry associations to support wildlife conservation and offers our support towards industry training, law enforcement activities and public education to assist those efforts.”