Going on an exotic holiday is extremely appealing. Especially the British tourists are not hesitant to visit remote and unique places, admire local cultural traditions, natural beauty and exotic animals. Of course, it is not exceptional, that travelers who visit an extraordinary place want to buy anything that will remind them of the extraordinary experience. Chinese oriental medicine, snake and lizard products, alligator items, rare plants, live reptiles...the list is long. Many of the above mentioned are truly precious souvenirs. However, the holiday-makers seem to not comprehend that all these products are made of endangered species. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is trying to raise the awareness of tourists, who unknowingly sponsor this illegal trade.
The WWF is trying to make the travelers understand the fact that many of the products are made from endangered animal species. By purchasing such memorabilia, the buyers are unwittingly helping to push some of the world’s most endangered species to the brink of extinction.
Only last year, the British customs officials confiscated more than 163, 000 illegal wildlife trade items, including 158, 000 illegal plants such as orchids and cyads; 221 elephant ivory and skin products.
What the WWF encourages the tourists to do, is to consider before they buy, what the particular souvenir is made out of. If in doubt, they shouldn’t get it. Encouraging this illegal trade is equally bad. As the WWF are trying to raise the public attention and awareness, as that is the only way of putting an end to unnecessary extinction of rare animal species.
