0:00:02 > 0:00:03ELEPHANT GRUNTS
0:00:06 > 0:00:11'Our most iconic African species are being pushed towards extinction.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16'Killed by poachers to supply an illegal trade
0:00:16 > 0:00:18'worth up to £15 billion a year.'
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Oh, it's sickening.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24'Bearing the brunt of this onslaught are Africa's elephants,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26'shot down for their ivories.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30'Despite a ban on the international ivory trade,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32'the killing is only getting worse.'
0:00:34 > 0:00:37'30,000 are shot every year.
0:00:37 > 0:00:38'And if that continues,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42'they could be gone from the wild within 25 years.'
0:00:47 > 0:00:49'Now, I'm on the search for solutions.'
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Can we get after this guy?
0:00:51 > 0:00:53'I reach the front line of Africa's poaching war...'
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I guess I better get this on.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58'..and plunge into the shady underworld
0:00:58 > 0:00:59'of criminal dealers in Asia.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:02- I can see straightaway that this is...- Real.- ..real.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'I witness the plight facing another
0:01:05 > 0:01:07'of Africa's most vulnerable species...'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09GUNSHOTS
0:01:09 > 0:01:12'..and the work being done to try and stop the killing.'
0:01:12 > 0:01:16I can see the carcass right here. That's a very grisly sight.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18'I want to find out if the desire for rhino horn
0:01:18 > 0:01:19'and ivory can be halted.'
0:01:19 > 0:01:22- Good morning, your Royal Highness. - Nice to see you again. - Good to see you.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24It is fixable and we can do something about it.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26What action can be taken
0:01:26 > 0:01:28to end this lethal trade?
0:01:29 > 0:01:31I have taken sides in this debate...
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Because now is the time for us to do all we can
0:01:34 > 0:01:38to save Africa's most iconic species.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I've been trying to find out how we can save Africa's elephants
0:01:50 > 0:01:53from the slide towards extinction.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57So far, I've followed the ivory trail from the poaching hot spot
0:01:57 > 0:02:00of northern Mozambique...
0:02:00 > 0:02:03to the thriving ivory markets of Asia.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I found evidence that poached African ivory
0:02:07 > 0:02:09is restocking the shops in Hong Kong.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18And I've discovered that huge amounts of historic ivory
0:02:18 > 0:02:20have been coming over from closer to home.
0:02:28 > 0:02:29Back in the UK,
0:02:29 > 0:02:34I've been looking into our own legal market in carved ivory antiques.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37What's your estimate of how many ivory pieces get sold
0:02:37 > 0:02:39in the UK in the average week?
0:02:39 > 0:02:42500 to 1,000 pieces, I should think.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43- Really?- Yeah.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46There's clear evidence that serious quantities are being
0:02:46 > 0:02:48bought up and shipped out to Asia.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51When you get a solid block,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53something carved that has a weight to it,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56that's where the Chinese and Vietnamese are buying it.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Official figures show that last year,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03over 2,500 pieces of UK ivory arrived in Hong Kong alone.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07Once it gets there,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09it's fuelling the very same market
0:03:09 > 0:03:11that's selling poached African ivory.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17I'm convinced that sending so much ivory from the UK
0:03:17 > 0:03:20into the Asian market is making us complicit
0:03:20 > 0:03:22with the killing of elephants in Africa,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26making it more likely that today and tomorrow somebody will go
0:03:26 > 0:03:30into the bush with a gun and kill an elephant for its ivory.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32So what can we do about that?
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Well, our government has promised twice now, in 2010 and 2015,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39to ban the ivory trade.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43I'm looking at the 2015 manifesto right here.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46"We will press for a total ban on ivory sales."
0:03:46 > 0:03:49So why hasn't this happened yet?
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I think the best way to find out is to ask our government
0:03:52 > 0:03:55for an interview for this programme,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58to tell me and to tell you what they're going to do about
0:03:58 > 0:03:59the ivory problem.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03So here goes. "Dear, Minister..."
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Now I'm turning my attention to the battle to save another species
0:04:09 > 0:04:13under just as much pressure as the elephant.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15I am heading for South Africa's Kruger National Park.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20On the way, I've stopped at a game reserve in Swaziland to try
0:04:20 > 0:04:23and get close to one of these animals.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Rhino.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- Oh, yes. Fantastic.- Yeah.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33He's stunning, Bongani, thank you so much for bringing me here.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35That's incredible. Look at him.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40What a beautiful animal.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42He's got a magnificent horn on him.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Yeah, it's one of my favourite. It's not easy to find.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Beautiful. Absolutely lovely.
0:04:50 > 0:04:55'The voracious demand for rhino horn in Asia means the levels of poaching
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'in South Africa have gone through the roof,
0:04:57 > 0:05:04'from 13 rhino killed in 2007 to almost 1,200 last year.'
0:05:04 > 0:05:06I've been finding out about
0:05:06 > 0:05:11the illegal trade in rhino horn and poaching and the grisly end
0:05:11 > 0:05:13that so many of these animals come to.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Just to see one standing here today looking so fine,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21- it's just great. - Yeah, it's magical.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22It is, magical.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27At the start of the 20th century,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30there were around half a million rhino.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33But today, there are just 29,000 left,
0:05:33 > 0:05:38and a third of them live in one famous South African reserve.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42So this is the Kruger Park, the busiest game reserve in Africa,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45with over a million visitors every year.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48And I get a sense of how busy it is, it's lunchtime here,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50the restaurant terrace is getting busy,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54I can hear the clinking of cutlery, the scraping of chairs.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59But this is also the busiest place in Africa for the killing of rhinos,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02with between two or three animals being lost every day
0:06:02 > 0:06:05for over a year now. It's happening right here.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Protecting the rhino here has become
0:06:09 > 0:06:12an urgent, multi-million dollar effort,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14funded by the South African government
0:06:14 > 0:06:16and international philanthropists.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21It includes helicopters, a military-style command
0:06:21 > 0:06:23and an army of rangers who regularly
0:06:23 > 0:06:25engage poachers in deadly firefights.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30There's even a team to gather crime scene evidence from the carcass
0:06:30 > 0:06:34of every poached rhino, and I'm joining them for the day.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41I don't know how many dead rhinos I'm going to see today.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45I don't really want to see ANY dead rhinos, but I have to.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48That's why I'm here, to see for myself just how bad the problem
0:06:48 > 0:06:50of poaching is here in Kruger.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- This way, 250.- 250 more?
0:07:00 > 0:07:01Yeah.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07I can see the carcass right here,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10just between these two bushes. Oh, that's a very grisly sight.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16Park ranger Russell has witnessed the alarming escalation
0:07:16 > 0:07:19of poaching here first-hand.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22How many times have you seen a dead rhino here in the park?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- Many times.- So the way this has been cut
0:07:26 > 0:07:28tells you that this has been done
0:07:28 > 0:07:29by experienced poachers?
0:07:29 > 0:07:32- Yes.- How long will it take them to remove the horns?
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I can estimate based on the distance.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41If they kill a rhino and we have to respond, about 1km.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44When you get there now, they are finished.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47So the time it takes you to walk or run 1km
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- after you've heard a shot...- Yeah.
0:07:51 > 0:07:52- ..the horn's gone?- It's gone, yes.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Just 200 metres away, we find a second carcass,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and the team have a backlog of three more
0:08:01 > 0:08:04to try and examine before the end of the day.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08The documenting of this slaughter has,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11for the Kruger Park autopsy team, become routine.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Today, they managed to find some evidence.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Wow, that is heavy. That is quite a lump of lead, isn't it?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25'This bullet could be used to prosecute poachers.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29'But convictions are rare,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33'unless the poachers are caught in possession of rhino horns.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36'And the ones from these poor animals could already
0:08:36 > 0:08:38'be thousands of miles away.'
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Just outside the park,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51people in the town of Hoedspruit are taking more direct action.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54They want to try and stop the poaching before it happens.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Steven. Ja...
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I'm joining farmers, private rhino rangers
0:08:59 > 0:09:04and the local police on one of their regular night-time operations.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07We are going to look for weapons, rhino horn,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11any suspicious stuff around rhino poaching.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14You're going to need this tonight.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Bulletproof for you.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I guess I better get this on.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The fact that everyone's going to be wearing these tonight
0:09:22 > 0:09:26says something at least about the seriousness
0:09:26 > 0:09:28of the operation.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I guess this is it, I'm on the front line now.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35'First, we set up a roadblock on one of the main routes into Kruger.'
0:09:39 > 0:09:41THEY CHATTER
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Any spaces capable of hiding guns or rhino horn are thoroughly checked.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47TYRES SCREECH
0:09:49 > 0:09:51ENGINE ROARS
0:09:52 > 0:09:53What's happened here?
0:09:53 > 0:09:56'Suddenly, a car approaching the roadblock
0:09:56 > 0:09:57'has done a rapid U-turn.'
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Just goes to show that there's serious stuff going on here,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04nobody's going to drive away from a roadblock
0:10:04 > 0:10:06unless they've got something to hide.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09What's the news, Rankin?
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- He's got away?- He got away, ja.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17When somebody makes a really quick getaway like that,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20what sort of hunch does that give you about what they could be up to?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Weapons. Weapons.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Normally, rifles and stuff,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29to come and shoot, or to come and drop off for poachers.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31- Frustrating.- Yeah, it is, very frustrating.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38The second phase of the operation gets underway.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40The team have been tipped off that poachers may be
0:10:40 > 0:10:43hiding at a camp on a nearby farm.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49'Illegal guns have been found on previous raids
0:10:49 > 0:10:51'on farm camps like this one.'
0:10:51 > 0:10:53There's a guy running across the roof.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01'A large migrant population is drawn to this area from Mozambique
0:11:01 > 0:11:05'and Zimbabwe to try and scrape a living picking fruit.'
0:11:05 > 0:11:08There's the door. We can go in there.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Look at this. It's one of the crudest shelters I've ever seen.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16These people must be pretty desperate. Desperate for work,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19desperate for money, desperate for something.
0:11:21 > 0:11:22What have you got there?
0:11:25 > 0:11:27There's a person here. Unbelievable.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34This man has good reason to be hiding,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- but it's nothing to do with poaching.- Work permit?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40MAN MUTTERS
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Then you are here illegally.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46When you see how they are living here...
0:11:46 > 0:11:50it's too hard, isn't it? Really tough.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53IN ENGLISH:
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Three men have been arrested tonight
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and charged with being illegal immigrants.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19This evening started as a hunt for poachers, but it's become
0:12:19 > 0:12:22a sobering insight into some deeply-rooted social problems.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30I haven't seen anything this evening that connects any of these guys
0:12:30 > 0:12:33to rhino poaching at all.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36But I have seen
0:12:36 > 0:12:40some pretty desperate people being rounded up
0:12:40 > 0:12:44and taken away from their very miserable living quarters.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49HE SIGHS
0:12:49 > 0:12:51It was a fairly uncomfortable evening
0:12:51 > 0:12:53to see these guys being dragged around
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and pulled down here.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Sometimes on these raids,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03they do find guns and they do find things that connect people
0:13:03 > 0:13:07living in these circumstances to the poaching of rhinos.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10And I guess, actually, from what I've seen,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13that's not hard to believe, not because of anyone
0:13:13 > 0:13:16I've met tonight or any of these guys behind me,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20but just because if you multiply up these desperate circumstances
0:13:20 > 0:13:23a few thousand times, then, yeah,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25you're going to find a few people who are desperate enough,
0:13:25 > 0:13:27for the promise of money,
0:13:27 > 0:13:32to pick up a gun and go into the bush and shoot a rhino.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36And on one level, you have to ask yourself...
0:13:36 > 0:13:38who could blame them?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I can see that there is a war being fought
0:13:44 > 0:13:46in and around the Kruger National Park.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52It's fuelled by the huge amount of money that flows from rhino horn.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Over 200 poachers are reported to have been killed in gunfights
0:13:56 > 0:13:58with rangers in the park.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03And there are battles outside too.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07A third of South Africa's rhino are on private game reserves,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and I've just heard of an incident
0:14:09 > 0:14:12involving one of the private security firms
0:14:12 > 0:14:14that protects them, called Protrack.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19I don't really have any detail at the moment but I'm on my way
0:14:19 > 0:14:22to Protrack's offices now to see if I can find out a bit more.
0:14:23 > 0:14:30I've arranged to meet the operations manager, Shaene Tintinger.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- Hi, Shaene. How's it going?- Good.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34- Good to meet you.- How are you?
0:14:34 > 0:14:35I heard there was an incident
0:14:35 > 0:14:37but I haven't heard any detail yet, Shaene.
0:14:37 > 0:14:43Yeah, one of our guys got shot while on duty protecting rhinos.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45This was a fatal shooting?
0:14:45 > 0:14:47I don't think, initially, it was.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51He was shot in the leg, but because of the circumstances,
0:14:51 > 0:14:52I think he bled to death.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54It sounds like, in the last few years,
0:14:54 > 0:14:58the escalation around the protection of rhino has just been crazy.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01I mean, you're in pretty much a war situation.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04The amount of armed contacts are escalating hugely.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06So that tells us one thing.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09The poachers are coming a bit more prepared for contact.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12How inevitable is it that this situation
0:15:12 > 0:15:15- gets worse rather than better? - Absolutely inevitable.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18It is going to get worse.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19What makes you so convinced of that?
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Because of the value that rhino horn carries.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26You've got to relate this problem to, eh,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28serious drug cartel and drug smuggling,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and people die because of that stuff.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35People die because of diamonds, people die because of gold.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Rhino horn has a higher value than any of those things I've mentioned.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41It carries a higher value.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46So, where there's high value and high reward,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49people are prepared to do high-risk things to get that.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Fighting off poachers with military-grade defences
0:15:55 > 0:15:59might slow down the killing of rhinos and elephants,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02but I don't think it's going to save these species.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06The value of the end products is just too high,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08and there are too many people willing
0:16:08 > 0:16:10to take risks for the money involved.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Behind the poaching are the traffickers and dealers,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18raking in the big cash from ivory and rhino horn,
0:16:18 > 0:16:19so who are these people?
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Morning.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24'I want to try and infiltrate the shady world
0:16:24 > 0:16:27'of the international wildlife criminal.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'So I've come to the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Hague.'
0:16:36 > 0:16:38- Hi.- Hello.- How's it going?
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- Hugh.- Hi. TJ.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42TJ, nice to meet you.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44By the way, are those your real names?
0:16:44 > 0:16:45THEY LAUGH
0:16:45 > 0:16:47- Ah, no.- They're not?
0:16:48 > 0:16:51'This NGO operates undercover to investigate
0:16:51 > 0:16:54'some of the world's biggest dealers.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56'They present their evidence
0:16:56 > 0:16:58'to the governments of the countries concerned,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00'pressing them to take action.'
0:17:00 > 0:17:03What sort of social media sites are being used?
0:17:03 > 0:17:06We monitor WeChat and we monitor traders using WeChat.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09So, WeChat is very big in Asia?
0:17:09 > 0:17:11It is. This is not behind closed doors.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14- This happens in the open.- We're not talking about the darknet here?
0:17:14 > 0:17:19This is just free, open trading on WeChat, Asian WeChat,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22which is one of the busiest social network sites in the world?
0:17:22 > 0:17:23Do you want us to show you how easy it is?
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Yeah, please.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28'I'm joining their current investigation
0:17:28 > 0:17:30'of big-time Vietnamese dealers.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'And for that, I need a fake online identity.'
0:17:33 > 0:17:34What do you have in mind?
0:17:34 > 0:17:36Something vaguely close to Hugh.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Have you got a good Chinese name that sounds a bit like Hugh?
0:17:38 > 0:17:39THEY CHUCKLE
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Little Wu.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43- Little Wu. - Why don't you call it Little Wu?
0:17:43 > 0:17:45I can be Little Wu.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47TJ creates my Little Wu profile
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and sends a message to a new lead they suspect
0:17:50 > 0:17:53of being a major boss in wildlife crime.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57IN FAR-EASTERN LANGUAGE:
0:18:01 > 0:18:03PHONE CHIMES Oh, is that...? That was a ping.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07- DISTORTED VOICE:- We just got approval from our friend in Vietnam.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- Little Wu is in! - Little Wu is in.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15The trader has posted a grim trail of the goods he has on offer,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19and now Little Wu has joined his group, ready to do business.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23You can see that he posts every day.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Gosh, so this is just today's postings?
0:18:25 > 0:18:29That's today's postings. This guy sells tigers, he sells pangolins,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32he sells ivory, he sells rhino horn.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I can see some tiger penises.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38A tiger being skinned.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- Ivory.- Yeah, they are the tips of ivory.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45And all the pictures of actual real rhino horns,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and they are all on scales.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Would it be interesting to ask him if there are any of those left?
0:18:51 > 0:18:52- Yeah, definitely.- Great.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57So, our friend has contacted us back,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59we can play the message that he sent us.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04RECORDING OF MAN SPEAKING FAR-EASTERN LANGUAGE
0:19:06 > 0:19:10So, he's asking, "Do you want the whole rhino horn?
0:19:10 > 0:19:13"Approximately how many kilos are you looking for?"
0:19:13 > 0:19:16He's just sent us more pictures.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- Ugh.- These are the big horns over here.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26- 11 horns.- 11 rhino horns! We didn't see that picture before.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- You haven't seen that picture before?- I haven't seen that picture, no.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33So just come in now is a picture of 11 big rhino horns.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34Oh, sickening.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Jesus.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41There's nearly 1 million worth of rhino horn
0:19:41 > 0:19:42sitting on the table there.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44About a million US.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45I've seen a lot of shocking things today,
0:19:45 > 0:19:48but for some reason, that picture is the worst of the lot
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and it really gets to me.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Well, it actually gets to me as well because that's the
0:19:53 > 0:19:54single largest amount of horns
0:19:54 > 0:19:56I've seen in one photograph from a trader.
0:19:56 > 0:19:57Are you serious?
0:19:57 > 0:20:00We've never seen that many horns in one photograph.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05- Can we get after this guy? - Yeah, most definitely.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10But we need to go to Vietnam for that.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13OK. Let's do it.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Evidence from intercepted hauls at customs
0:20:21 > 0:20:25point to one country as the biggest importer and user of rhino horn.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29It's where the man we're after runs his business.
0:20:29 > 0:20:30Vietnam.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40I've come to its capital a couple of days ahead of Tony and TJ.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44I want to understand why rhino horn is in such high demand here.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52The common explanation is that it's used as traditional medicine,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54although since it's made of the same stuff
0:20:54 > 0:20:56as our fingernails and hair, keratin,
0:20:56 > 0:20:58I can't imagine it has much effect.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03When I meet local wildlife campaigner Wen Bu
0:21:03 > 0:21:05on Hanoi's Medicine Street,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08she tells me I'm looking in the wrong place.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11It's become way too expensive to use as a remedy.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14If you buy rhino horn, you show us how rich you are.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Because rhino horn is very expensive.
0:21:16 > 0:21:22Between 35 to 50,000 US dollars for a kilo.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Up to 50,000 a kilo?
0:21:26 > 0:21:31Yes. So it's only used by a very small, very wealthy group of people.
0:21:31 > 0:21:36So I would say the number one reason we believe the rhino horn's used for
0:21:36 > 0:21:38is for social status.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40It's really about an elite group of people showing off
0:21:40 > 0:21:42their status to each other?
0:21:42 > 0:21:47If you organise a party at your house with VIP guests,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49you use rhino horn,
0:21:49 > 0:21:52grind them up and mix with wine and drink it.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57- And it's showing off.- So the right clothes with the right labels,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01the smart car and rhino horn at your parties,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04that really establishes that you're a top player, a member of the elite?
0:22:04 > 0:22:05Yes, yes.
0:22:06 > 0:22:11So making a rhino horn cocktail has become the way to show off
0:22:11 > 0:22:13for the new super-rich of Vietnam.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18I want to find out how easy it is to get hold of,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20but I need to be careful.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Investigative work by foreigners in this one-party police-run state
0:22:24 > 0:22:26is strictly illegal.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Being caught would quickly land me in jail.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I'm just sewing a button on this shirt.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40It's all rigged up with a tiny little lens inside there.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42So, this is obviously for undercover filming.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Look at that. That will do, I think.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49My cover story is that I'm a businessman
0:22:49 > 0:22:53looking for an exotic new product to impress my rich clients.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Far Flung Foods is the name of my business.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01I've got my business card. It's got the website address.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I've created a little one page "coming soon" website.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I've contacted an investigative reporter
0:23:08 > 0:23:10who's agreed to help me out.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Hi, thanks for setting this up.
0:23:15 > 0:23:16Shall I jump in?
0:23:16 > 0:23:19'He's approached a dealer through his local contacts,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22'offering to introduce a wealthy foreigner
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'who wants to buy rhino horn. That's me.'
0:23:25 > 0:23:28And do you know where we're going to meet this guy?
0:23:28 > 0:23:31It's probably like the inside of coffee.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33- A coffee shop?- Yeah, a coffee shop.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38'I need to come across as upbeat, friendly and genuinely keen to buy.'
0:23:38 > 0:23:41- Hello.- Hello.- How are you? I'm Hugh.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43'But that's not how I feel inside.'
0:23:49 > 0:23:50'Change of plan.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54'He wants to take us to his house, and I've got to run with it.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56'And I'm not the only one who's uneasy.'
0:24:24 > 0:24:26'My cover seems to wash.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29'And we're straight down to business.'
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Oh, my goodness. I wasn't expecting this to happen quite so fast.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38MAN LAUGHS
0:24:38 > 0:24:41- I can see straightaway that this is...- Real.- ..real.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43Totally. Because you've got that...
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- Yeah, because of...- The hairs.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48And the way that the light comes through.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51See that? It's extraordinary.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09This one is like 57 million.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11And this one, only 54.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16'That's over £20,000 per kilo.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20'In a country where the average wage is just £175 a month.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23'I've seen all I need here.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27'Now I've just got to find a reason not to do the deal.'
0:25:27 > 0:25:31I'm very impressed. This is not about buying one thing today,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34it's about trying to have a relationship.
0:25:51 > 0:25:52Well done. Thank you.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00It turns out that rhino horn is just a phone call away.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02It's there for the taking.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04I could have got cash out of my wallet this morning
0:26:04 > 0:26:08and walked out with half a kilo of rhino horn,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and that trader would not have been remotely concerned
0:26:11 > 0:26:13about who I was or why I was buying it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14He just wanted to sell it.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18So actually, when it comes to the coal face of buying and selling
0:26:18 > 0:26:21rhino horn, there's not much suspicion, not much anxiety.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24If you've got the money and you want to buy it, you can have it.
0:26:24 > 0:26:30It seems bizarre and alien to us in Europe that people would covet...
0:26:30 > 0:26:32the horn of this animal.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37But then there are centuries of tradition and mystique about it
0:26:37 > 0:26:39here in Asia that add to that.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42And if you put a layer on top of that,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46of modern money madness and the obsession with status and wealth,
0:26:46 > 0:26:49it seems that perhaps you get something
0:26:49 > 0:26:52that means that people do want to hold on to this,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55that it's going to be quite hard to shake from the culture.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01My wildlife investigator friends Tony and TJ
0:27:01 > 0:27:03have now arrived in Hanoi.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09We're meeting at their hotel to plan our sting on Mr Big,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13the man with 1 million worth of rhino horn for sale online.
0:27:13 > 0:27:14Hi, how are you?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17- Good, how are you?- Really good to see you again.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19All the way the other side of the world from where we last met.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27We've hardly started when we are interrupted by the hotel manager.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29He's worked out we're filming and he's not happy about it.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38It's vital he doesn't clock what we're doing.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Government officials are implicated in using rhino horn,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45so being caught trying to expose the issue would be bad news.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48We haven't got many options,
0:27:48 > 0:27:50so we relocate to my hotel round the corner.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Come on in. If you sit backs to the window,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58that's going to help us black you out.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00What about the main target?
0:28:00 > 0:28:01You're going to meet him face-to-face.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04- DISTORTED VOICE:- That's correct.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07And we're going to get some pictures of him and his products?
0:28:07 > 0:28:08That's what we're hoping for, yes.
0:28:08 > 0:28:09I can't wait to see that.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13I can't wait to think that in the next 24 hours,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17- we'll be bringing that in. - That'll be exciting.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I know your phones are pinging. I'm sure that's back at base.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Just to let you know, the police
0:28:21 > 0:28:24have actually turned up at our hotel, so...
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Are you kidding?
0:28:25 > 0:28:27'This is a big problem.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31'The first hotel have all our names, and if any of us are caught,
0:28:31 > 0:28:34'we could be charged with espionage.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37'Tony and TJ leave to grab their gear and make their escape.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41'The bottom line is we have to get out of here - fast.'
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I've never done anything like this before.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47My heart's thumping right now.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50'It's too risky to take the undercover gear with us.'
0:28:50 > 0:28:53That's all staying here in Vietnam.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56It's basically a total giveaway.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00'But the secret footage from meeting the rhino horn dealer
0:29:00 > 0:29:03'is too precious to ditch. I'm burying the memory card deep.'
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Hopefully no-one is going to look in my dirty laundry.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Abandoning our sting on Mr Big
0:29:16 > 0:29:18is a huge disappointment, but the thought of
0:29:18 > 0:29:21a Vietnamese jail is even more motivating right now.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25I just want to get out before the message reaches
0:29:25 > 0:29:26the airport to stop us.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37So, sitting down on the plane, due to take off in just a few minutes.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39We're not quite there yet.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43When the wheels leave the ground, that's when I'll feel all right.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58That is us off the ground and in the air,
0:29:58 > 0:30:02and there's only one way to describe how I feel right now.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04- BLEEP- relieved.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Goodbye, Vietnam.
0:30:18 > 0:30:22Amazingly, just three weeks after we left Hanoi in a hurry,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Tony managed to get a second undercover team into Vietnam.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29I can't wait to find out what they've come back with
0:30:29 > 0:30:32on Little Wu's nemesis, Mr Big.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Things went very well for us.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Excellent, they made contact with Mr Big?
0:30:36 > 0:30:40- Yes, they did, yeah.- The same guy who sent those pictures of,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43I think it was 11 rhino horns to Little Wu?
0:30:43 > 0:30:44Any sign of them when you got there?
0:30:44 > 0:30:47Unfortunately when we got there, he was out of rhino horn,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51so we asked him what did he have available, and he had some ivory.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Really? So this is our guy? This is Mr Big?
0:30:54 > 0:30:57- That's Mr Big.- Oh, my God.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01So, he showed us about 440 kilos of ivory.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03That's a lot of tusks on that pile.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- 440 kilos?!- Yeah.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09How many individual tusks, roughly, do you think that was?
0:31:09 > 0:31:12I can't tell you the exact count, but in excess of 100.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15Did he give a per-kilo price for that?
0:31:15 > 0:31:18It basically worked out about half a million US for the whole lot.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22- And he was quite keen to shift all of it, was he?- Yeah.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25We still think the main market is China,
0:31:25 > 0:31:27but what we have been told is that major traffickers
0:31:27 > 0:31:34are now stockpiling ivory, because they think that the trade
0:31:34 > 0:31:38will rebound eventually, so they are buying the commodities now,
0:31:38 > 0:31:41buying the wildlife products now at a cheap price,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43hoping to sell them in the future.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45So we are looking at speculators here,
0:31:45 > 0:31:47especially with this raw ivory?
0:31:47 > 0:31:50'This intelligence that the kingpins
0:31:50 > 0:31:52'of wildlife crime are speculating on
0:31:52 > 0:31:56'a future ivory trade is pretty terrifying.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59'Any market in ivory supports that speculation.'
0:32:01 > 0:32:05And the legal UK ivory market is potentially huge.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10- NEWSREEL NARRATOR:- In this London warehouse, from tusk to mirror,
0:32:10 > 0:32:12everything goes at top speed.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16We've travelled a long way from the African elephant.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Between 1860 and 1920,
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Britain imported the tusks of over one million African elephants.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27That's more than twice the number alive in Africa today.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Much of this now makes up our own stockpile of worked ivory.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Official records show thousands of such pieces
0:32:35 > 0:32:38are being sold into Asian markets every year,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41and that's just the legal stuff.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43What's heading out of the UK under the radar?
0:32:44 > 0:32:47I go to speak to the head of the Border Force wildlife team,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Grant Miller.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52He shows me a small selection of the smuggled UK ivory
0:32:52 > 0:32:53seized by his team,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56all leaving the country without proper paperwork.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01And these are all worked pieces of ivory here, are they?
0:33:01 > 0:33:03These are the types of things that are being shipped out to
0:33:03 > 0:33:06China and Hong Kong, likely to be re-carved,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10reworked into an item that they actually want.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12They can be anything from Victorian hairbrushes,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15which can be a substantial weight of ivory at the back of it.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20So that's your Chinese nationals who are just sourcing any ivory
0:33:20 > 0:33:21they can to fuel the demand.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24And this is an ongoing problem, week in, week out?
0:33:24 > 0:33:26When did you last get a seizure?
0:33:26 > 0:33:31Last week, I made 18 seizures of ivory at the UK border on export.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34- 18 in a week?- 18 in a week. - All elephant ivory?
0:33:34 > 0:33:38All elephant ivory going to China and going to Hong Kong.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43Clearly, huge amounts of UK ivory is reaching Asia,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45both legally and illegally.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48And this is a trade that our government
0:33:48 > 0:33:50has twice promised to ban.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55It's a promise I first wrote to them about more than two months ago.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58I've been pushing the Government for an interview to clarify their policy
0:33:58 > 0:34:01on UK ivory, and I've finally had a reply from
0:34:01 > 0:34:04the Ministry of the Environment.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08"The minister will not be able to take part in your programme
0:34:08 > 0:34:10"on this occasion."
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Well, if there's one thing I've learnt trying to get interviews
0:34:13 > 0:34:16with ministers, it's that the first no doesn't really count.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18You have to keep trying.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Convert that no into a maybe and eventually get a yes.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24So I've bashed out a reply straightaway.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28"Dear Minister, I was very disappointed to hear
0:34:28 > 0:34:31"that you've declined my request for a filmed interview."
0:34:34 > 0:34:37The problem of historic ivory stocks is one the UK Government
0:34:37 > 0:34:39seems reluctant to talk about.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44But earlier this year, the government of Kenya
0:34:44 > 0:34:47invited me to attend an event addressing just this issue.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50- You can have it. - Yeah?- You can have it.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Just outside Nairobi, Kenya is preparing
0:34:55 > 0:34:58to make an extraordinary statement to the world.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04Hi there.
0:35:04 > 0:35:09These 12 mounds make up virtually all of Kenya's ivory stockpile.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15They are the accumulation of tusks seized from poachers
0:35:15 > 0:35:18and collected from elephants that have died naturally.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26And they are all about to go up in flames.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32They're heavy. They are really heavy.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42In charge of the logistics of this extraordinary event
0:35:42 > 0:35:46is Patrick Omondi of the Kenyan Wildlife Service.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48What's the total tonnage on this site?
0:35:48 > 0:35:50How many tonness of ivory are you going to burn?
0:35:50 > 0:35:52We are going to torch 105 tonnes.
0:35:52 > 0:35:58- 105- tonnes. Yes, of ivory, and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02- Gosh.- Yes.- Have you any idea what the value of that would be
0:36:02 > 0:36:05if it was being traded internationally?
0:36:05 > 0:36:09We, as a country, we have, eh,
0:36:09 > 0:36:11not put a price to ivory.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15We still believe ivory is worth more
0:36:15 > 0:36:18when it is in a living elephant.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23We lose approximately 35,000 elephants a year in Africa.
0:36:23 > 0:36:2535,000 elephants.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29And most of those, you don't get the ivory back?
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Most of them, you don't get ivory back.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33So if we had the stocks here,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36I think we would be having three or four times...
0:36:36 > 0:36:37- Really?- ..of ivory.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Three or four times this if you'd managed
0:36:39 > 0:36:42to collect all the ivory poached in Africa in just one year?
0:36:42 > 0:36:45- In one year.- We'd be looking at four times as many piles.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49- Yes, four times as many piles. - That's extraordinary.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Kenya deliberately refuses to acknowledge the cash value
0:36:53 > 0:36:55of the ivory they're destroying,
0:36:55 > 0:37:01but a bit of mental maths tells me that it's over £100 million worth.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04In recent years, Botswana, South Africa,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Zimbabwe and Namibia were permitted one-off sales
0:37:07 > 0:37:09of their ivory stockpiles to Asia.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta
0:37:13 > 0:37:18is one of many who argues that these sales fuelled the demand for ivory
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and lead to increased poaching all over Africa.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27No-one has any business trading in ivory,
0:37:27 > 0:37:31for this trade means death.
0:37:31 > 0:37:37Death for our elephants and death for our natural heritage.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39In destroying the ivory,
0:37:39 > 0:37:45we reject once and for all those who think that our natural heritage
0:37:45 > 0:37:47can be sold for money.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58If you walked in on this scene and you haven't heard
0:37:58 > 0:38:01any of the arguments or discussions about why this is happening,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04you'd think this was the maddest thing you'd ever, ever seen.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10The tusks of 8,000 African elephants going up in flames.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11Why is it happening?
0:38:13 > 0:38:16It's really hard to explain why it's happening,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20and it's not completely clear whether this will change anything,
0:38:20 > 0:38:22but there are a lot of people here,
0:38:22 > 0:38:24including three African presidents,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27who are determined that it WILL change something.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29And, you know, right now, I feel it's got to change something.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32I don't want to have been here and seen this
0:38:32 > 0:38:34for it NOT to change something.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Watching the tusks of 8,000 elephants burn,
0:38:46 > 0:38:50I can't help remembering the ivory of over a million elephants
0:38:50 > 0:38:52that Britain took from Africa.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59Isn't it now our responsibility to make sure that what remains
0:38:59 > 0:39:01of our ivory plays no part in fuelling
0:39:01 > 0:39:04the poaching of elephants in Africa today?
0:39:07 > 0:39:10That's the question I want to ask our government.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13But two weeks after my last e-mail to the minister,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15I still don't have a reply.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19So what is our government going to do about our stockpile?
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Are we going to get the promised ban on the ivory trade?
0:39:22 > 0:39:25I don't know, because I can't get them to talk about it.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29They haven't even replied to my last request for an interview.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32But I'm not giving up. I'm going to give it one more shot.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36I'm going to write to the minister's boss,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38the Secretary of State for the Environment.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44"Dear Right Honourable...
0:39:44 > 0:39:45"Andrea Leadsom."
0:39:56 > 0:40:00There are some high-profile figures here in the UK working to try
0:40:00 > 0:40:05and reduce the market value of ivory and rhino horn.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12I'm on my way to meet one of the UK's figureheads
0:40:12 > 0:40:16for conservation of rhino and elephant.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18The fact that he's actually made himself available
0:40:18 > 0:40:21for a TV ad that's been broadcast all over Asia
0:40:21 > 0:40:24I think really shows the level of his commitment.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30For some species, it's almost too late.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33We could fill this stadium and many more
0:40:33 > 0:40:35if we could stop the illegal trade.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40Ask your friends and family never to buy rhino horn.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44And together, we CAN save our wild rhinos.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47- When the buying stops... - The killing can too.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51This ad, by the NGO WildAid,
0:40:51 > 0:40:55was played up to 70 times a day on Chinese state TV.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59It's part of a strategy to try and change
0:40:59 > 0:41:01the culture of desiring wildlife products,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04called demand reduction.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Good morning, your Royal Highness.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- Good morning to you. How are you?- Good.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10- Nice to see you.- Good to see you.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Where do you think the solution lies, the big picture solution?
0:41:14 > 0:41:17The big picture solution is definitely in the demand side.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20It is the key, but it's also the biggest and hardest thing to tackle.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24And it's not something you can just fix really quickly.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26We have to find a way of reducing the demand,
0:41:26 > 0:41:27making it much less attractive.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31You've felt so strongly about this that you've done something
0:41:31 > 0:41:35which is quite unusual for a member of the royal family,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38which is that you've stepped up and appeared in a TV ad
0:41:38 > 0:41:41alongside two great sporting superstars.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Do you have any evidence that this demand reduction
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and the kind of work you've been doing is really starting to bite?
0:41:47 > 0:41:51I do. I think it is starting to bite.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55If you look at what's happened with shark fin soup, Save the Whale,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57all those sorts of campaigns,
0:41:57 > 0:41:58they took a bit of time to get going,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01but once they reached a certain level, they took off.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Ivory needs to become unfashionable and undesirable, and I still believe
0:42:04 > 0:42:07that if we can get this campaign to the level it should be at,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10it will turn the corner and it will start snowballing
0:42:10 > 0:42:12into a real positive movement.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21Back in southern Africa, many are arguing
0:42:21 > 0:42:24that the strategy of demand reduction is failing
0:42:24 > 0:42:26to save Africa's most threatened species.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32I'm on my way to a farm outside Johannesburg whose owner advocates
0:42:32 > 0:42:34a radically different approach
0:42:34 > 0:42:37to safeguarding the future of the rhino.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42This is home to the largest herd of rhino in the world.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44They are owned by John Hume.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56It's quite something to be able to look at rhinos
0:42:56 > 0:42:58in these kind of numbers.
0:42:58 > 0:42:59Oh, yes.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03'John started his breeding project in 1992
0:43:03 > 0:43:07'with just five rhino. He now has over 1,300 of them.'
0:43:08 > 0:43:10How would you describe the contribution
0:43:10 > 0:43:12that you've made to rhino conservation,
0:43:12 > 0:43:15helping the African rhino population?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Only in numbers, really, because I haven't spread them anywhere.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20Which I could go on doing.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Buy more land, breed more rhinos.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25But in order to do that, I'll need a lot of money,
0:43:25 > 0:43:28and the security is now one-and-a-half times
0:43:28 > 0:43:30what all the rest of the costs are put together.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32So it's not sustainable.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35Protection is easily your biggest expense?
0:43:35 > 0:43:37Oh, yeah, by far. It's much bigger
0:43:37 > 0:43:40than all the other expenses put together.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45John wants to pursue a controversial way to pay for protecting his rhino.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48He's been humanely removing their horns
0:43:48 > 0:43:52and has built up reserves worth millions of pounds.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54But, at the moment, he can't legally sell it.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58I'm convinced that the only way
0:43:58 > 0:44:00we're going to save rhinos is to legalise
0:44:00 > 0:44:02the trade in their horns.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06I understand completely how selling rhino horn will help
0:44:06 > 0:44:09your business here, help you keep this thing going,
0:44:09 > 0:44:11but I'm a bit less clear on how
0:44:11 > 0:44:14it will help the African rhino generally.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16That part is easy.
0:44:16 > 0:44:21I do not believe that putting more horn on the market
0:44:21 > 0:44:25is going to stimulate the demand. I believe the opposite.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30The government has got 28 tonne of horn, I have five tonne of horn.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33So we have over 30 tonne of horn.
0:44:33 > 0:44:38We could easily, sustainably sell six or seven tonne
0:44:38 > 0:44:41of horn into the demand, and thus, I believe,
0:44:41 > 0:44:47lessen the demand into Kruger National Park.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Lessen the pressure on the wild rhino?
0:44:49 > 0:44:52Lessen the pressure on the wild rhino.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54The principal alternative argument
0:44:54 > 0:44:57to commercialisation and open trade
0:44:57 > 0:44:59in rhino horn is demand reduction.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Isn't this just the moment when demand reduction
0:45:03 > 0:45:05might start to bite and, inevitably,
0:45:05 > 0:45:09illegal trade has to end up in demand increase?
0:45:09 > 0:45:11No, I'm sorry, I don't accept that at all.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14What do you think I should do?
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Sitting here, knowing that without selling my horn,
0:45:17 > 0:45:23all of these 1,360 rhino are going to be dead in ten or 12 years' time.
0:45:23 > 0:45:24- Poached?- What do you expect me to do?
0:45:24 > 0:45:29- They'll be poached?- Poached or I'll be forced to sell them to people
0:45:29 > 0:45:31who are not as legitimate as I am
0:45:31 > 0:45:34and they will kill them for the black market,
0:45:34 > 0:45:36because it's worth more on the black market.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40Because you haven't won, yet, your demand reduction fight.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07I've now visited four different countries in Africa and two in Asia,
0:46:07 > 0:46:09and what have I found out?
0:46:09 > 0:46:11What do I think?
0:46:14 > 0:46:18It does seem to boil down to these two polar positions.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22One of them, idealistic and high-minded
0:46:22 > 0:46:25and hopeful that people can change,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28cultures can change, and we don't have to go on
0:46:28 > 0:46:31desiring objects made from our wildlife.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35And the other position that says that's not realistic,
0:46:35 > 0:46:38it's never going to happen, it's all about money.
0:46:38 > 0:46:40If it pays, it stays.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42We have to recognise the value of these animals,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45it's the only way they're going to survive.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48My heart says, "Let's get to a better place.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50"Let's change the culture.
0:46:50 > 0:46:55"Let's have a world where consuming wildlife is not the only thing
0:46:55 > 0:46:58"that justifies its existence."
0:46:58 > 0:47:00But if I'm going to get behind that,
0:47:00 > 0:47:04I have to truly believe that this demand reduction mission
0:47:04 > 0:47:06can really be achieved.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13One country in the world consumes more ivory than any other.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16And with a population of 1.3 billion,
0:47:16 > 0:47:20there's plenty of potential for further customers.
0:47:20 > 0:47:21I'm heading for a city in China
0:47:21 > 0:47:23that's been at the centre
0:47:23 > 0:47:25of the ivory carving industry for centuries.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35I want to get under the skin of a culture that still values ivory.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38And so I've arranged to meet a few people who own some.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40- Hello.- Hi, Yami, how are you?
0:47:40 > 0:47:44I understand that you've bought a few pieces of ivory.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46I'd be really interested to see them.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53This is a very light thing, isn't it?
0:47:53 > 0:47:54It's very small.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56'I show Yami, her son and friend
0:47:56 > 0:48:00'some of the recent Wild Aid campaign videos.
0:48:00 > 0:48:01'They feature big Asian stars
0:48:01 > 0:48:04'pushing the message of demand reduction.'
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Please, be ivory-free.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28Hi, Catherine. 'Next, I meet Catherine and her daughter.'
0:48:28 > 0:48:29When I watch the advert,
0:48:29 > 0:48:33I understand they're actually killing the live animal
0:48:33 > 0:48:37and just taking the tooth or horns.
0:48:37 > 0:48:38Very shocking.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42To see another way the message is being put across,
0:48:42 > 0:48:44I join an ivory awareness event
0:48:44 > 0:48:46at one of Guangzhou's huge shopping malls.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50Events like this are regularly being held
0:48:50 > 0:48:52in different cities across China.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Well, this is fun. We've got an interactive elephant
0:48:56 > 0:48:58here in the mall.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Here comes the gun. Here comes the target.
0:49:06 > 0:49:07And at the end of all the fun,
0:49:07 > 0:49:09we hear a bang and the elephant goes down.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12When did you first understand that ivory came only from elephants
0:49:12 > 0:49:15that had been killed?
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Do you think this can change the way people think about ivory?
0:49:43 > 0:49:46There's also a change in attitude happening
0:49:46 > 0:49:47at the top in China.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51- NEWSREADER: - US President Barack Obama
0:49:51 > 0:49:52and China's president Xi Jinping
0:49:52 > 0:49:55have announced a commitment to ban commercial trade
0:49:55 > 0:49:58of ivory in their respective countries.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02President Xi still needs to commit to the timing of his ban,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04but it feels like there is real momentum
0:50:04 > 0:50:06for change here in China.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09Are you sure that you will never buy ivory?
0:50:09 > 0:50:10Yeah, I'm sure.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14If the ivory trade were to be legalised now,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17which is what some southern African countries are arguing for,
0:50:17 > 0:50:19it would completely undermine this work.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23I think the world needs to see what I'm seeing here.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27We're asking people today if they want
0:50:27 > 0:50:29to make a personal commitment never to buy ivory.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Would you like to do that today?
0:50:32 > 0:50:34No problem, OK.
0:50:34 > 0:50:35OK. That's good.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Two, three, and turn it over.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42That looks great, but what does it say?
0:50:42 > 0:50:44HE READS ALOUD IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:50:47 > 0:50:48I've been really touched by these
0:50:48 > 0:50:50pledges that have been made today.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52You know, it gives me a lot of hope.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54People today are telling me that
0:50:54 > 0:50:56demand reduction CAN work, it is working,
0:50:56 > 0:50:58and they want to be part of it,
0:50:58 > 0:51:00and that's a message I'm very happy
0:51:00 > 0:51:02to take out to the rest of the world.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16It's become clear to me that the solution
0:51:16 > 0:51:19to the killing of Africa's elephants relies
0:51:19 > 0:51:23on the world pulling together to end the ivory trade.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27In a few days' time, delegates from 183 countries
0:51:27 > 0:51:30will be attending a wildlife trade conference
0:51:30 > 0:51:32in Johannesburg called CITES.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Ivory is top of the agenda,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38with some countries asking once again
0:51:38 > 0:51:40to be allowed to sell their ivory stockpiles
0:51:40 > 0:51:44and others pushing for an outright ban.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49So, is the UK going to attend the CITES conference
0:51:49 > 0:51:52with a weaker commitment to ending our own ivory trade
0:51:52 > 0:51:54than China and America?
0:51:54 > 0:51:57I've been asked to speak at the View From The Shard
0:51:57 > 0:52:01at a pre-CITES event in London. But the day before,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03the hot news is that the UK Government
0:52:03 > 0:52:06might just have been stirred into action.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11The Times front-page headline this morning,
0:52:11 > 0:52:13"Britain to crack down on illegal ivory."
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is on the line now.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20'I'm being asked to comment on the problem of the UK trade.'
0:52:20 > 0:52:23UK ivory ends up in the Asian market,
0:52:23 > 0:52:26the Asian market is what's killing African elephants.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29'And my hopes for a total ban from our government.'
0:52:29 > 0:52:33The announcement, if it comes, will come tomorrow with Hugh there,
0:52:33 > 0:52:36the Duke of Cambridge and the minister from Defra too.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38In fact, the announcement's early.
0:52:40 > 0:52:41Well, this has just come through.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45GOV.UK. Press release.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49"UK ban on modern-day ivory sales."
0:52:49 > 0:52:51I read this and I was about to punch the air with excitement,
0:52:51 > 0:52:56and then I did a double-take. Hang on - modern-day ivory sales.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Modern-day ivory sales are practically banned already.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03To do any trade at all in modern-day ivory in the UK,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05you need a special licence from CITES,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07and I know from talking to Defra
0:53:07 > 0:53:11that only 150 of those were issued in the last year.
0:53:11 > 0:53:16Meanwhile, we are selling thousands of pieces of our antique ivory
0:53:16 > 0:53:20to Asia, to the corrupt market that is responsible
0:53:20 > 0:53:22for the killing of elephants in Africa.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25What's been done about that, our antique ivory?
0:53:25 > 0:53:27There is something here at the bottom.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31"Trade in works of art and ornaments dating from before 1947,
0:53:31 > 0:53:35"deemed antiques, will continue to be permitted."
0:53:35 > 0:53:38That means our entire stockpile of antique ivory,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42the stuff that's heading off to Asia as fast as we can sell it,
0:53:42 > 0:53:44is still up for grabs.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48I'm afraid our minister has spectacularly missed the point here.
0:53:48 > 0:53:50I really hope she's at the Shard tomorrow,
0:53:50 > 0:53:52because I'm dying to talk to her.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00The next day, as the event gets underway,
0:54:00 > 0:54:02I'm poised for my chance finally to speak
0:54:02 > 0:54:04about ivory with Andrea Leadsom.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10This way.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Minister, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15- Oh, hello. Nice to meet you. - Very nice to meet you.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17Very much hoping to talk to you a little bit
0:54:17 > 0:54:19about the announcement you made yesterday.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21This is a first step. I think it sends
0:54:21 > 0:54:23a really important message to the world that
0:54:23 > 0:54:25trade in ivory is just unacceptable.
0:54:25 > 0:54:29You know, we've got to do something to save these iconic animals.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32But actually, a ban on modern-day ivory is absolutely key
0:54:32 > 0:54:35at the moment, and so that's the first step.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37One of the clearest lines in your press release yesterday
0:54:37 > 0:54:41said it would be business as usual for pre-1947 ivory.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43That could continue to be traded.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47Is that something you can look at if there is clear evidence
0:54:47 > 0:54:51that pre-1947 ivory is implicated in export to Asia,
0:54:51 > 0:54:54where of course it then stimulates the trade
0:54:54 > 0:54:56and plays a role in covering the ivory
0:54:56 > 0:54:58from poached African elephants?
0:54:58 > 0:54:59So, as I say,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03I think the announcement we've made to ban the trade in modern-day ivory
0:55:03 > 0:55:05is a really important first step.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08We will meet our manifesto commitment,
0:55:08 > 0:55:09what we're trying to do...
0:55:09 > 0:55:12The manifesto commitment was for a total ban.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15- Yes, that's right.- So that should include pre-'47 ivory in due course?
0:55:15 > 0:55:19- And as I said...- But yesterday's statement said that that could continue to be traded,
0:55:19 > 0:55:23so that seems to actually actively contradict your manifesto pledge.
0:55:23 > 0:55:25Manifesto pledge - total ban.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29Yesterday's statement - pre-1947, no problem.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31Which of those two is ultimately going to stack up?
0:55:31 > 0:55:34We're totally committed to our manifesto.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36So ultimately a total ban?
0:55:36 > 0:55:38And yesterday was a good first step
0:55:38 > 0:55:40that sends an important message to the world
0:55:40 > 0:55:42about the protection of these iconic animals,
0:55:42 > 0:55:47- which is absolutely vital.- So any suggestion that pre-1947...
0:55:47 > 0:55:50- Thanks.- Any suggestion that pre-1947...
0:55:50 > 0:55:54- Thank you.- ..will remain legal could come under review?
0:55:54 > 0:55:56OK, well, that may be the best shot
0:55:56 > 0:55:58we get at talking to Andrea Leadsom today.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02I just don't understand why the Government
0:56:02 > 0:56:05aren't taking more positive action on this.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Can concerns for a small section of the antiques trade
0:56:08 > 0:56:12really outweigh doing everything we can to save the elephant?
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Right now though, I need to concentrate on this event.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21It's being covered by the world's media and beamed live to the city
0:56:21 > 0:56:23hosting the CITES conference, Johannesburg.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29It's my chance to present what I've discovered in Africa, Asia,
0:56:29 > 0:56:34Europe and the UK and explain my conclusion that banning the trade
0:56:34 > 0:56:36completely is the only answer.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen
0:56:46 > 0:56:50and the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, good afternoon.
0:56:50 > 0:56:55We must now decide whether to keep open the possibility
0:56:55 > 0:56:59of legal trade in the products of rhinos and elephants
0:56:59 > 0:57:03or to do all that we can to eradicate demand
0:57:03 > 0:57:06and end the trade once and for all.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09I've spent six months on a filmed quest to try to find out
0:57:09 > 0:57:12what the solutions might be.
0:57:12 > 0:57:15I have taken sides in this debate.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17We have to end this trade.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19For good.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26My investigation into what's driving the illegal ivory trade
0:57:26 > 0:57:31and what we should be doing about it has come to an end.
0:57:31 > 0:57:32For now.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37But there has been an important development
0:57:37 > 0:57:39from the delegates in South Africa.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43The CITES conference in Johannesburg has produced
0:57:43 > 0:57:47one really important resolution for Africa's elephants,
0:57:47 > 0:57:49and these are the critical words.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54All 183 countries at CITES, including the UK,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58have promised to close down any "legal domestic market for ivory
0:57:58 > 0:58:04"that is contributing to poaching or illegal trade."
0:58:04 > 0:58:07I think my films have proved that here in the UK,
0:58:07 > 0:58:11by selling our antique ivory into the Asian market,
0:58:11 > 0:58:15we are contributing to poaching and the illegal trade.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19These words are the new mandate for global change, and if we're going to
0:58:19 > 0:58:22ask the rest of the world to take action on ivory,
0:58:22 > 0:58:26then surely we have to take action ourselves.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29So, come on, let's ban the UK ivory trade.