The passionate prince, who shrugged off complaints about recent claims he is a “part-time royal”, stating they’re simply a “part of the job”, unveiled a ground-breaking multinational agreement to counter the illegal trafficking of animal parts, where he expressed his fears for the future in an emotional speech at Buckingham Palace.
“If we allow current trends to continue, there will be no African elephants or rhinos left in the wild by the time my daughter Charlotte reaches her 25th birthday,” he said.
“The poaching crisis is bringing violence, death and corruption to many vulnerable communities. It threatens to rob future generations of their livelihoods in those regions where wildlife tourism is the core of local economies.”
In an effort to heighten the reach of his conservation hopes, the 33-year-old sat down with ITV’s Mark Austin to discuss the poaching crisis.
The father-of-two is focusing his efforts on wildlife protection.
“These sorts of things take a lot of time, they take a lot of planning and a lot of knowledge building, a lot of conversations,” he explained.
“I didn’t want to get to 45 or 50 and sit back and say ‘I could have said something about that issue but I didn’t because I worried about what people thought or what people said.'”
In fact, the proud father-of-two foresees his darling kids following in his footsteps.
William believes his little snow bunnies will want to follow him in his bid to save the world’s wildlife.
“I’d definitely like to see George and Charlotte in Africa, they’d have a wonderful time and I can see George being a bit of a bum sometimes out in the conservation world with his bangles and his sandals,” he quipped.
“But I think I’d love them to be interested in the subject and pursue the same sort of ideas and aims that I am.”
William added, “I want to turn round and turn to my children and my friends and talk to other people my age and having known we have truly made a difference, we have fixed something, we have given hope to the future. That should give everybody a lift and realize there is hope that we can fix stuff.”
William, who carried out 87 appearances last year compared to his 94-year-old grandfather Prince Philip, who carried out 250 appearances last year, did stir some controversy with his views on trophy hunting.
While he doesn’t condone the “unforgivable” shooting of Cecil the Lion, he does believe hunting can be justified if the profits go into protecting endangered species.
“There is a place for commercial hunting in Africa as there is round the world. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea,” he admitted.
Despite his views on trophy hunting, it’s clear William wants one thing – to stop poaching.
“This crisis can be stopped!”
Both Harry and William are exceptionally passionate about the world’s animals and have focused their efforts in protecting them.
