Charles: We must treat illegal wildlife trade as a battle

I have said before that we must treat the illegal wildlife trade as a battle, because it is precisely that.

The rising and apparently insatiable demand, much of it from Asia, has provided an economic incentive for trafficking to become increasingly criminalised and professional.

Organised bands of criminals are stealing and slaughtering elephants, rhinoceros and tigers, as well as large numbers of other species, in a way that has never been seen before, pushing many species to the brink of extinction.