Animal jewellery among holiday souvenirs
Tuesday, 05 Sep 2006 16:24
Ivory trinkets are among the most popular wildlife souvenirs
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British holidaymakers are bringing back thousands of holiday wildlife souvenirs, including elephant footstools and leopard purses, campaigners have said.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has linked up with the British travel industry to call for an end to the practice of collecting trinkets that encourage the trade in endangered animal products.
According to a recent YouGov poll, 600,000 Britons have admitted to bringing back from holiday items made from ivory, fur, tortoise shells and other such materials in the last five years.
The IFAW claims this trend is putting elephants, rhinos, leopards and other animals in danger and has launched its Think Twice campaign today in conjunction with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) to bring an end to it.
Buying such souvenirs is not always illegal, but encouraging the trade in wild animal goods, especially in southern Africa where such trinket selling is rife, is said to be harming many animals' chances of survival.
"Tourists need to remember if they don't buy, animals won't die," IFAW UK's director Robbie Marsland said.
"If 600,000 British tourists are bringing back parts of dead animals as souvenirs think how many millions must be dying internationally. It's far better to buy alternative mementos, such as local handicrafts instead of items that harm the very animals that people have travelled so far to see."
IFAW wildlife campaigner Nikki Kelly added: "Most of these souvenirs are being bought unwittingly simply because travellers are confused by the complex laws governing trade in wild animals or because they just aren’t aware of them.
"Worse still, wildlife souvenirs are often sold so openly abroad many tourists mistakenly believe they must be legal."
Of the 2,301 adults questioned for the survey, seven per cent admitted to buying such souvenirs and 26 per cent said they had come across animal items during their trip.
The IFAW says this number equates to 1.5 per cent of the British holidaying public, hence the 600,000 figure.
Items most commonly taken back to the UK are those made from coral, which makes up 16 per cent of those seen on sale, while reptile skin, claws and jaws, elephant items and sea turtle shells also feature prominently in markets, trinket stalls and airport shops.