PEOPLE

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                A côté de lui, son fils William, duc de Cambridge, lui aussi très actif dans le domaine de la protection de la nature, ajoute: "nous devons être la génération qui met fin au commerce illégal et qui garantit l'avenir de ces animaux magnifiques ainsi que de leur habitat. Car si nous échouons, il sera trop tard".

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Les deux princes terminent leur message avec un slogan - "Unissons nous pour la vie sauvage" - récité en arabe, vietnamien, swahili, espagnol et mandarin, afin d'être entendus par le plus grand nombre.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Ce double appel royal intervient quelques jours d'une grande conférence organisée par le gouvernement britannique. Elle réunira mercredi et jeudi prochains à Londres des hauts responsables d'une cinquantaine de pays pour tenter de trouver des réponses à ce fléau.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      "En dix ans, 62% de la population des éléphants de la forêt africaine a été décimée. Un rhinocéros est tué toutes les onze heures. Il y a cent ans, 100.000 tigres vivaient à l'état sauvage en Asie. On estime leur nombre à moins de 3.200 aujourd'hui", détaille le prince Charles.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Selon l'Union Européenne, la corne de rhinocéros est désormais plus précieuse que l'or, se négociant au prix de 40.000 euros le kilo, et les os de tigre, utilisés eux aussi dans la médecine asiatique traditionnelle, rapportent 900 euros le kilo.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Le trafic d'ivoire, tiré par une forte demande en Chine et dans une moindre mesure en Thaïlande, est particulièrement actif, malgré le moratoire sur son commerce international décidé en 1989.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Le nombre des éléphants africains tués par des braconniers, 22.000 en 2012, a ainsi doublé en dix ans. A ce rythme, la survie de cet animal emblématique du continent n'est plus assurée.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Plusieurs pays - Chine, Etats-Unis, Philippines - ont procédé ces derniers mois à des destructions partielles de leur stock d'ivoire illégal.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Jeudi au pied de la Tour Eiffel, la France a broyé trois tonnes d'ivoire issues de saisies pour sensibiliser l'opinion et afficher sa détermination à lutter contre ce type de trafic.