Prince says illegal wildlife trade is funding terror

The illegal wildlife trade is being used by terror groups to fund their activities, Prince William revealed today.

The Duke of Cambridge said it was now the fourth most lucrative crime after drugs, arms and human trafficking, with trading of animal parts such as elephant tusks and rhino horns estimated to be worth up to $20 billion.

Writing a blog for the Huffington Post, the prince added it was not a victimless crime as 1,200 park rangers had been killed in the past 12 years.

He will give a speech on the subject, which is "extremely close to his heart", at the World Bank in New York later.

In his blog, he said: "The statistics speak for themselves. In three years, 100,000 African elephants have been poached. The illegal killing of rhinos has increased 7,700% in five years and 97% of the world's wild tigers have been lost over the past century.

"Many people might wonder why conserving wildlife should be considered so important when there are wider issues of global and national interest, such as conflict and poverty to worry about. The answer is because these issues are interlinked.

"Cooperation is our greatest weapon and we must be brave and ambitious in taking a truly international approach to get one step ahead of the criminals and hold to account those who look the other way.

"I will call upon experts, policy makers, anti-corruption agents, prosecutors and private companies to help in this task. Together, we have the means to stop this corrosive trade.

"But we are already past the eleventh hour and now, more than ever before, is the time to act."