Wow, I knew if I lived long enough I would agree with Prince Charles on something, and it seems we agree that there is an implacable war against animals, a world war on a global scale, starkly evident in the high-tech poaching industry that is wiping out species such as rhinos and elephants before our eyes (see, for instance, my posts here and here). It seems we also agree that the human assault on other animals ought to be viewed as and treated as a war in which we defend animals from attack by any means necessary on this dying planet (see, for instance, my posts here and here).
Nice to be in agreement with you on these points, Prince Charles. Now how about putting the UK’s armed forces in the service of wildlife under attack?
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The Guardian, May 21, 2013

Oh it would be something marvelous, extraordinary to have the UK’s armed forces in the service of wildlife under attack!!!!
Dear Steve, this video is spreading in Mexico beautifully! It`s a 3 year old kid explaining why we must not eat Animals……..https://www.youtube.com/watchfeature=player_embedded&v=X8oSfw3wl5g
thanks!
Reblogged this on My Blog spiritandanimal.wordpress.com.
Well done, Prince Charles. He stands up for endangered species … while his son William and the others of the “Royal Family” like to go hunting.
Don’t they hunt animals too?
Avidly, Suzette!
Unbelievable !! and inspiring. Ive got to say Im speechless! Go Charles! Finally an authority figure and Royalty waging war on these poaching scum, instead of being involved…… oops! did i say that!
While I also agree that animal poachers should be shot on sight, it is important to note that HRH Charles is propounding a conservationist imperitive and not advocating for the use of lethal force to defend animals as individuals. That is the next step in consciousness we all need to reach. Prof. Rosaleen Duffy at Leichester has an excellent book called Nature Crime in which she points out that changing the economic and conditions of people living in proximity to animals subject to poaching is the ultimate answer. While I agree with her, my point is that in the short term poaching is a matter of international trade and not merely local. I advocate criminalizing every step of the poaching supply chain and ask that laws be enacted punishing not merely the poachers on the ground but the bankers and wholesale and retail purchasers of poached animals. Merely shooting a man with a gun in Africa or India will not stop poaching, but strict criminal penalties and asset seizures of bankers, airllines, importers, exporters and posessors may stop most poaching. If you are bank who finacnces poachers your should be seized and liquidated. If you posess an Ivory chop your house should be seized and you should be imprisoned. So far CITES and its member nations have been supine in this regard and see only the possibility of foriegn currency and payoffs and several nations and dimwitted lawyers are still talking about special Ivory “harvest” sales and sustainable cultivation of animals to further supply a market in animal body parts. I would like to note that poaching is not just about Rhinos but can involve more familiar species such as fish in reataurants for anyone who eats fish and endangered species wood in furniture and this is global problem which must be choked at the source financing level as well as the retail level.
Great points John, I certainly agree with the need to address the larger social-economic (or political economy) of poaching, both in terms of the causes of the problem (such as stem from greed, market imperatives, and poverty) and the solutions to the problem (which will have to include stringently applied and enforced protection laws and penalties and redistribution of wealth and resources).
Not just the UK, but the world’s armed forces up against all the animal killers instead of fighting over who’s the biggest honcho? Yes, now there would be a human race I’d be proud of. Looks like Prince Charles the fox hunter (?) is at last wising up some. Thank you for this one.
Yes, I have been aware of Prince Charles environmental concerns for some time now, I think that with the influence of his son’s, and now a grandchild, and the increasing evidence of destruction, it has become evident how serious action is required.
Yes, agree with the sentiments. And also with bringing in military assistance to battle the war against poachers.
However, coming out of the mouth of such a hypocrite, these words tend to make me feel ill. The Royals have always been involved in bloodsports – hunting, shooting, fishing…. canned hunting in the case of their ‘extended family.’ Prince Charles hunted with hounds, and although illegal now – well, the elite are above the law aren’t they! This disgusting bloodsport entails foxes being torn to pieces by a pack of dogs.
Degenerates who enjoy this so-called ‘sport’ also dig out young foxes and have been known to smash them to death,
The Duke of Cambridge apparently spent £10,000 (of taxpayer’s money) buying in birds for a day’s shoot to celebrate his younger brother’s birthday last year.
Foie Gras is a favourite delicacy of Kate Middleton – next queen of England, who is not averse – along with her blood family in addition to the in-laws – to a day’s shooting.
Prince Charles has an opinion on everything from sewerage systems to alien abductions. Guess being unemployed tends to do that to a person. I’d be more impressed had he damned not only poaching of endangered species, but voiced abhorrence of hunting altogether. Of course, that will never happen! Hypocrites, the lot of them!
Thank Katie, I was waiting for a UK person to come along and properly skewer Royal Hypocrisy, and you did it exquisitely 😉
It’s all well and good for Charles and his son to righteously decry the decimation of animals. But correct me if I’m wrong–aren’t both of these men, as well as their wives, avid hunters of wildlife in England? Sounds like a case of “do as I say, not as I do.” Or maybe their concern , like so many other “concerned” people, only extends to endangered species–no need to worry about deer and foxes is there?! Still, when the Duke of Cambridge said “we’ll run out of animals.” it sounds as if the rest of the sentence is: “and then there’ll be no more for us to hunt, dammit!”
I would like to feel encouraged by this royal call to protect animals. Their high public visibility could perhaps make some difference. But I’m afraid people will judge them, just as vegans and vegetarians in leather shoes are judged, and will feel justified hunting animals saying: “See–they’re all a bunch of hypocrites!”
While Prince Charles wages this battle to protect the few he’s still a carnist. Still a speciesist. We are ready for world figures to be leaders to advance justice and respect to all, not just the chosen exotic ones.
I like how this man Damien Mander founding director of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation seamlessly integrates his concern from the wild rhinos to the domestic lambs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FCsyK4aRXQ
Damien Mander is on a journey with ethics and compassionate as the destination… Prince Charles is just taking a safe, detoured bus around the edges of what really matters.