2008 Speeches

June 12, 2008

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Launch of the Public Service Announcements
  to Stop the Illegal Trafficking of Wildlife
Information Resource Center

Dr. Joseph Ryan, Chief Veterinary Officer, Ministry of  Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources; Antony Ramnarine, Conservator of Forests and Chief Game Warden, Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources; other representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources; other Government Officials; artists from the Colours of Life Project; members of the media; ladies and gentlemen

Good morning!

I am pleased to be here with you this morning. Welcome to everybody, especially the students from the "Colours of Life" project.  Your dedication to the protection of nature's wonders, and the excellence of your work, inspires us all. 

Trinidad and Tobago, with its awe inspiring natural beauty and varied wildlife, is a truly blessed nation.    One only has to visit Asa Wright and see the beautiful birds flitting about, or Grand Riviere and see lumbering Leatherbacks nesting, to realize this -- to say nothing of the wildlife bounty of Tobago to understand the beauty of which I speak.

However, illegal trafficking in wildlife and wildlife products threatens these birds, turtles and other animals.  Wildlife trafficking is a growing worldwide business estimated at more than $10 billion a year and purported to be linked to other nefarious activities such as the smuggling of drugs, weapons and people.  Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this trade, an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 primates and two to three million birds are sold illegally each year.  And while putting rare species in jeopardy is a tragedy in and of itself, wildlife trafficking also can pose risks to human health – as animals move, so can the diseases, such as avian influenza that they carry.

In 2006, realizing that something had to be done,  the United States formed a partnership called the "Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking" to fight this illegal activity.  Today, this organization has 19 partners, including Australia, Canada, Chile, India and the United Kingdom and 13 international non-governmental organizations.  The Coalition works to curb supply through enforcement and to reduce demand by generating public awareness. 

The U.S. Department of State, working with one of our coalition partners, Wild Aid, has produced the three television public service announcements (PSAs) that we debut today to combat wildlife trafficking.  If you have recently been to the movies, you may recognize the actor featured in the announcements -- Harrison Ford, fresh from his "Indiana Jones" exploits!  But while Indy's adventures are the stuff of fun-fiction, the problem we are here today to help combat is deadly serious.

Before I close, let me take a moment to thank the remarkable young artists from "Colours of Life", led by the equally remarkable Aisha McCloud.  Aisha’s artists have created a series of paintings of endangered species in Trinidad and Tobago to draw attention to the animals’ beauty and strength – and their plight as their habitats are destroyed. The students’ exhibit, sponsored jointly by the U.S. and T&T, runs at the UN House until July 6; and from July 15 to August 12 it can be viewed at the National Museum.  The exhibit will end its run at the Untitled Gallery in Sausalito, California in November.  

I thank you for your attention and hope that you will share the message of our young and gifted artists, and of the famous Mr. Ford, with your peers, colleagues, friends, and family members.