Beckham: Whose side are you on?

Princes William and Harry and David Beckham are among those backing the #WhoseSideAreYouOn campaign, which aims to harness the power of sport and social media to ask this generation whose side they are on: the side of illegal killing or the side of species preservation.

United for Wildlife, which launched in February this year, was created by the Royal Foundation, led by The Duke of Cambridge, to bring together the world’s leading wildlife charities under a common purpose; to scale up the response to conservation crises and to create a global movement for change.
The Duke was joined at the launch by David Beckham, who announced the first group of global ambassadors for the campaign: Andy Murray, Lewis Hamilton, Francois Pienaar, Rahul Drvaid, Yao Ming, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Hans Sarpei, and The Leicester Tigers.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridgesaid;

“Around the world, the illegal wildlife trade is responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of animals a year, pushing some of our most beloved species to the brink of extinction.

“Our children should not live in a world without elephants, tigers, lions and rhinos. Enough is enough. It is time to choose between critically endangered species and the criminals who kill them for money.”

The #WhoseSideAreYouOn campaign calls for people to show their support by signing up via Facebook, Twitter or Google+, subscribing to United for Wildlife You Tube channel or visiting the website www.unitedforwildlife.orgto find out more. They can highlight the conservation issue by watching or participating in United for Wildlife sports events.

Glyn Davies, Director of Global Programmes at WWF-UK, said;
“We know that stamping out the illegal wildlife trade, an estimated 19 billion dollar global industry, is no easy task. But by pulling together and working towards solutions, United for Wildlife is determined to make it happen.”