ANDY Murray has backed wildlife charity WWF’s call for Vietnam to end its illegal wildlife trade.
The new world tennis No1 – a World Wide Fund ambassador – added his name to a 155,000 signature-strong petition ahead of a conference on the illegal wildlife trade in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Duke of Cambridge and governments from around the world will attend. It will see countries report on progress on commitments they made to tackle the illegal trade.
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Vietnam is the world’s largest illicit market for rhino horn, which is seen as a status item and –despite being made from the same material as fingernails – a medicine used to cure conditions from cancer to hangovers.
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It is also seen as playing a key role in the trafficking and consumption of illegal products including ivory, scaly anteater or pangolin scales and tiger skins.
It will be facing tough scrutiny over its failures to crack down on the trade in illegal wildlife, which is driving species towards extinction.
Some 1338 rhinos and around 20,000 elephants were killed across Africa last year by poachers to feed illegal markets in horn and ivory, WWF said.
Murray said: “Some of the world’s most beautiful species are threatened by this horrendous crime – from tigers to pangolins to elephants to rhinos. It’s up to each one of us to do our part and take a stand against
it, so I encourage everyone to sign this petition.”
The petition ill be handed to the Vietnamese government in Hanoi.
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