On Monday in Tanzania, United States President Barack Obama issued an executive order and initiative to help combat illegal wildlife trafficking in Africa. The programme called the State Department to provide $10 million (R100 million) to aid technical assistance and training in South Africa, Kenya and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the Verge, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said:

We applaud President Obama’s executive order to elevate the US government’s engagement in the fight against the growing illegal wildlife trade. The president’s decision to prioritize the issue will hopefully save hundreds of lives of people on the frontline of this battle, and also save hundreds of thousands of individual animals exploited by this brutal trade.

Obama’s initiative couldn’t have come at a better time. The UN Environmental Programme states that the global ivory trade that is driven primarily by Asian countries has doubled since 2007.

Let’s hope this is another boost for diminishing poaching threats and foreign syndicates.

[Source: TheVerge]