Episode 2 Saving Africa's Elephants: Hugh and the Ivory War


Episode 2

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ELEPHANT GRUNTS

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'Our most iconic African species are being pushed towards extinction.

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'Killed by poachers to supply an illegal trade

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'worth up to £15 billion a year.'

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Oh, it's sickening.

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'Bearing the brunt of this onslaught are Africa's elephants,

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'shot down for their ivories.

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'Despite a ban on the international ivory trade,

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'the killing is only getting worse.'

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'30,000 are shot every year.

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'And if that continues,

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'they could be gone from the wild within 25 years.'

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'Now, I'm on the search for solutions.'

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Can we get after this guy?

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'I reach the front line of Africa's poaching war...'

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I guess I better get this on.

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'..and plunge into the shady underworld

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'of criminal dealers in Asia.'

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-I can see straightaway that this is...

-Real.

-..real.

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'I witness the plight facing another

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'of Africa's most vulnerable species...'

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GUNSHOTS

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'..and the work being done to try and stop the killing.'

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I can see the carcass right here. That's a very grisly sight.

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'I want to find out if the desire for rhino horn

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'and ivory can be halted.'

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-Good morning, your Royal Highness.

-Nice to see you again.

-Good to see you.

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It is fixable and we can do something about it.

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What action can be taken

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to end this lethal trade?

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I have taken sides in this debate...

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Because now is the time for us to do all we can

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to save Africa's most iconic species.

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I've been trying to find out how we can save Africa's elephants

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from the slide towards extinction.

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So far, I've followed the ivory trail from the poaching hot spot

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of northern Mozambique...

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to the thriving ivory markets of Asia.

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I found evidence that poached African ivory

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is restocking the shops in Hong Kong.

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And I've discovered that huge amounts of historic ivory

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have been coming over from closer to home.

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Back in the UK,

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I've been looking into our own legal market in carved ivory antiques.

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What's your estimate of how many ivory pieces get sold

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in the UK in the average week?

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500 to 1,000 pieces, I should think.

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-Really?

-Yeah.

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There's clear evidence that serious quantities are being

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bought up and shipped out to Asia.

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When you get a solid block,

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something carved that has a weight to it,

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that's where the Chinese and Vietnamese are buying it.

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Official figures show that last year,

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over 2,500 pieces of UK ivory arrived in Hong Kong alone.

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Once it gets there,

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it's fuelling the very same market

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that's selling poached African ivory.

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I'm convinced that sending so much ivory from the UK

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into the Asian market is making us complicit

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with the killing of elephants in Africa,

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making it more likely that today and tomorrow somebody will go

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into the bush with a gun and kill an elephant for its ivory.

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So what can we do about that?

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Well, our government has promised twice now, in 2010 and 2015,

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to ban the ivory trade.

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I'm looking at the 2015 manifesto right here.

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"We will press for a total ban on ivory sales."

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So why hasn't this happened yet?

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I think the best way to find out is to ask our government

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for an interview for this programme,

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to tell me and to tell you what they're going to do about

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the ivory problem.

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So here goes. "Dear, Minister..."

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Now I'm turning my attention to the battle to save another species

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under just as much pressure as the elephant.

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I am heading for South Africa's Kruger National Park.

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On the way, I've stopped at a game reserve in Swaziland to try

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and get close to one of these animals.

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Rhino.

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-Oh, yes. Fantastic.

-Yeah.

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He's stunning, Bongani, thank you so much for bringing me here.

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That's incredible. Look at him.

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What a beautiful animal.

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He's got a magnificent horn on him.

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Yeah, it's one of my favourite. It's not easy to find.

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Beautiful. Absolutely lovely.

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'The voracious demand for rhino horn in Asia means the levels of poaching

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'in South Africa have gone through the roof,

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'from 13 rhino killed in 2007 to almost 1,200 last year.'

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I've been finding out about

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the illegal trade in rhino horn and poaching and the grisly end

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that so many of these animals come to.

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Just to see one standing here today looking so fine,

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-it's just great.

-Yeah, it's magical.

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It is, magical.

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At the start of the 20th century,

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there were around half a million rhino.

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But today, there are just 29,000 left,

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and a third of them live in one famous South African reserve.

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So this is the Kruger Park, the busiest game reserve in Africa,

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with over a million visitors every year.

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And I get a sense of how busy it is, it's lunchtime here,

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the restaurant terrace is getting busy,

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I can hear the clinking of cutlery, the scraping of chairs.

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But this is also the busiest place in Africa for the killing of rhinos,

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with between two or three animals being lost every day

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for over a year now. It's happening right here.

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Protecting the rhino here has become

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an urgent, multi-million dollar effort,

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funded by the South African government

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and international philanthropists.

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It includes helicopters, a military-style command

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and an army of rangers who regularly

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engage poachers in deadly firefights.

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There's even a team to gather crime scene evidence from the carcass

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of every poached rhino, and I'm joining them for the day.

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I don't know how many dead rhinos I'm going to see today.

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I don't really want to see ANY dead rhinos, but I have to.

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That's why I'm here, to see for myself just how bad the problem

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of poaching is here in Kruger.

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-This way, 250.

-250 more?

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Yeah.

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I can see the carcass right here,

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just between these two bushes. Oh, that's a very grisly sight.

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Park ranger Russell has witnessed the alarming escalation

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of poaching here first-hand.

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How many times have you seen a dead rhino here in the park?

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-Many times.

-So the way this has been cut

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tells you that this has been done

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by experienced poachers?

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-Yes.

-How long will it take them to remove the horns?

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I can estimate based on the distance.

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If they kill a rhino and we have to respond, about 1km.

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When you get there now, they are finished.

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So the time it takes you to walk or run 1km

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-after you've heard a shot...

-Yeah.

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-..the horn's gone?

-It's gone, yes.

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Just 200 metres away, we find a second carcass,

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and the team have a backlog of three more

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to try and examine before the end of the day.

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The documenting of this slaughter has,

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for the Kruger Park autopsy team, become routine.

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Today, they managed to find some evidence.

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Wow, that is heavy. That is quite a lump of lead, isn't it?

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'This bullet could be used to prosecute poachers.

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'But convictions are rare,

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'unless the poachers are caught in possession of rhino horns.

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'And the ones from these poor animals could already

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'be thousands of miles away.'

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Just outside the park,

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people in the town of Hoedspruit are taking more direct action.

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They want to try and stop the poaching before it happens.

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Steven. Ja...

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I'm joining farmers, private rhino rangers

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and the local police on one of their regular night-time operations.

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We are going to look for weapons, rhino horn,

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any suspicious stuff around rhino poaching.

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You're going to need this tonight.

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Bulletproof for you.

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I guess I better get this on.

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The fact that everyone's going to be wearing these tonight

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says something at least about the seriousness

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of the operation.

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I guess this is it, I'm on the front line now.

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'First, we set up a roadblock on one of the main routes into Kruger.'

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THEY CHATTER

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Any spaces capable of hiding guns or rhino horn are thoroughly checked.

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TYRES SCREECH

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ENGINE ROARS

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What's happened here?

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'Suddenly, a car approaching the roadblock

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'has done a rapid U-turn.'

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Just goes to show that there's serious stuff going on here,

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nobody's going to drive away from a roadblock

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unless they've got something to hide.

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What's the news, Rankin?

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-He's got away?

-He got away, ja.

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When somebody makes a really quick getaway like that,

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what sort of hunch does that give you about what they could be up to?

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Weapons. Weapons.

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Normally, rifles and stuff,

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to come and shoot, or to come and drop off for poachers.

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-Frustrating.

-Yeah, it is, very frustrating.

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The second phase of the operation gets underway.

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The team have been tipped off that poachers may be

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hiding at a camp on a nearby farm.

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'Illegal guns have been found on previous raids

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'on farm camps like this one.'

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There's a guy running across the roof.

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'A large migrant population is drawn to this area from Mozambique

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'and Zimbabwe to try and scrape a living picking fruit.'

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There's the door. We can go in there.

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Look at this. It's one of the crudest shelters I've ever seen.

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These people must be pretty desperate. Desperate for work,

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desperate for money, desperate for something.

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What have you got there?

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There's a person here. Unbelievable.

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This man has good reason to be hiding,

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-but it's nothing to do with poaching.

-Work permit?

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MAN MUTTERS

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Then you are here illegally.

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When you see how they are living here...

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it's too hard, isn't it? Really tough.

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IN ENGLISH:

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Three men have been arrested tonight

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and charged with being illegal immigrants.

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This evening started as a hunt for poachers, but it's become

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a sobering insight into some deeply-rooted social problems.

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I haven't seen anything this evening that connects any of these guys

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to rhino poaching at all.

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But I have seen

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some pretty desperate people being rounded up

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and taken away from their very miserable living quarters.

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HE SIGHS

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It was a fairly uncomfortable evening

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to see these guys being dragged around

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and pulled down here.

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Sometimes on these raids,

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they do find guns and they do find things that connect people

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living in these circumstances to the poaching of rhinos.

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And I guess, actually, from what I've seen,

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that's not hard to believe, not because of anyone

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I've met tonight or any of these guys behind me,

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but just because if you multiply up these desperate circumstances

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a few thousand times, then, yeah,

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you're going to find a few people who are desperate enough,

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for the promise of money,

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to pick up a gun and go into the bush and shoot a rhino.

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And on one level, you have to ask yourself...

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who could blame them?

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I can see that there is a war being fought

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in and around the Kruger National Park.

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It's fuelled by the huge amount of money that flows from rhino horn.

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Over 200 poachers are reported to have been killed in gunfights

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with rangers in the park.

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And there are battles outside too.

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A third of South Africa's rhino are on private game reserves,

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and I've just heard of an incident

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involving one of the private security firms

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that protects them, called Protrack.

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I don't really have any detail at the moment but I'm on my way

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to Protrack's offices now to see if I can find out a bit more.

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I've arranged to meet the operations manager, Shaene Tintinger.

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-Hi, Shaene. How's it going?

-Good.

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-Good to meet you.

-How are you?

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I heard there was an incident

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but I haven't heard any detail yet, Shaene.

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Yeah, one of our guys got shot while on duty protecting rhinos.

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This was a fatal shooting?

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I don't think, initially, it was.

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He was shot in the leg, but because of the circumstances,

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I think he bled to death.

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It sounds like, in the last few years,

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the escalation around the protection of rhino has just been crazy.

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I mean, you're in pretty much a war situation.

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The amount of armed contacts are escalating hugely.

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So that tells us one thing.

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The poachers are coming a bit more prepared for contact.

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How inevitable is it that this situation

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-gets worse rather than better?

-Absolutely inevitable.

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It is going to get worse.

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What makes you so convinced of that?

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Because of the value that rhino horn carries.

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You've got to relate this problem to, eh,

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serious drug cartel and drug smuggling,

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and people die because of that stuff.

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People die because of diamonds, people die because of gold.

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Rhino horn has a higher value than any of those things I've mentioned.

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It carries a higher value.

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So, where there's high value and high reward,

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people are prepared to do high-risk things to get that.

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Fighting off poachers with military-grade defences

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might slow down the killing of rhinos and elephants,

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but I don't think it's going to save these species.

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The value of the end products is just too high,

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and there are too many people willing

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to take risks for the money involved.

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Behind the poaching are the traffickers and dealers,

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raking in the big cash from ivory and rhino horn,

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so who are these people?

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Morning.

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'I want to try and infiltrate the shady world

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'of the international wildlife criminal.

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'So I've come to the Wildlife Justice Commission in the Hague.'

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-Hi.

-Hello.

-How's it going?

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-Hugh.

-Hi. TJ.

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TJ, nice to meet you.

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By the way, are those your real names?

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THEY LAUGH

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-Ah, no.

-They're not?

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'This NGO operates undercover to investigate

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'some of the world's biggest dealers.

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'They present their evidence

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'to the governments of the countries concerned,

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'pressing them to take action.'

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What sort of social media sites are being used?

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We monitor WeChat and we monitor traders using WeChat.

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So, WeChat is very big in Asia?

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It is. This is not behind closed doors.

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-This happens in the open.

-We're not talking about the darknet here?

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This is just free, open trading on WeChat, Asian WeChat,

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which is one of the busiest social network sites in the world?

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Do you want us to show you how easy it is?

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Yeah, please.

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'I'm joining their current investigation

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'of big-time Vietnamese dealers.

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'And for that, I need a fake online identity.'

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What do you have in mind?

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Something vaguely close to Hugh.

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Have you got a good Chinese name that sounds a bit like Hugh?

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THEY CHUCKLE

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Little Wu.

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-Little Wu.

-Why don't you call it Little Wu?

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I can be Little Wu.

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TJ creates my Little Wu profile

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and sends a message to a new lead they suspect

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of being a major boss in wildlife crime.

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IN FAR-EASTERN LANGUAGE:

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PHONE CHIMES Oh, is that...? That was a ping.

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-DISTORTED VOICE:

-We just got approval from our friend in Vietnam.

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-Little Wu is in!

-Little Wu is in.

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The trader has posted a grim trail of the goods he has on offer,

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and now Little Wu has joined his group, ready to do business.

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You can see that he posts every day.

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Gosh, so this is just today's postings?

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That's today's postings. This guy sells tigers, he sells pangolins,

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he sells ivory, he sells rhino horn.

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I can see some tiger penises.

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A tiger being skinned.

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-Ivory.

-Yeah, they are the tips of ivory.

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And all the pictures of actual real rhino horns,

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and they are all on scales.

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Would it be interesting to ask him if there are any of those left?

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-Yeah, definitely.

-Great.

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So, our friend has contacted us back,

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we can play the message that he sent us.

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RECORDING OF MAN SPEAKING FAR-EASTERN LANGUAGE

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So, he's asking, "Do you want the whole rhino horn?

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"Approximately how many kilos are you looking for?"

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He's just sent us more pictures.

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-Ugh.

-These are the big horns over here.

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One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,

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-11 horns.

-11 rhino horns! We didn't see that picture before.

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-You haven't seen that picture before?

-I haven't seen that picture, no.

0:19:260:19:29

So just come in now is a picture of 11 big rhino horns.

0:19:290:19:33

Oh, sickening.

0:19:330:19:34

Jesus.

0:19:360:19:37

There's nearly 1 million worth of rhino horn

0:19:380:19:41

sitting on the table there.

0:19:410:19:42

About a million US.

0:19:420:19:44

I've seen a lot of shocking things today,

0:19:440:19:45

but for some reason, that picture is the worst of the lot

0:19:450:19:48

and it really gets to me.

0:19:480:19:50

Well, it actually gets to me as well because that's the

0:19:500:19:53

single largest amount of horns

0:19:530:19:54

I've seen in one photograph from a trader.

0:19:540:19:56

Are you serious?

0:19:560:19:57

We've never seen that many horns in one photograph.

0:19:570:20:00

-Can we get after this guy?

-Yeah, most definitely.

0:20:030:20:05

But we need to go to Vietnam for that.

0:20:080:20:10

OK. Let's do it.

0:20:100:20:13

Evidence from intercepted hauls at customs

0:20:180:20:21

point to one country as the biggest importer and user of rhino horn.

0:20:210:20:25

It's where the man we're after runs his business.

0:20:260:20:29

Vietnam.

0:20:290:20:30

I've come to its capital a couple of days ahead of Tony and TJ.

0:20:360:20:40

I want to understand why rhino horn is in such high demand here.

0:20:400:20:44

The common explanation is that it's used as traditional medicine,

0:20:470:20:52

although since it's made of the same stuff

0:20:520:20:54

as our fingernails and hair, keratin,

0:20:540:20:56

I can't imagine it has much effect.

0:20:560:20:58

When I meet local wildlife campaigner Wen Bu

0:21:000:21:03

on Hanoi's Medicine Street,

0:21:030:21:05

she tells me I'm looking in the wrong place.

0:21:050:21:08

It's become way too expensive to use as a remedy.

0:21:080:21:11

If you buy rhino horn, you show us how rich you are.

0:21:110:21:14

Because rhino horn is very expensive.

0:21:140:21:16

Between 35 to 50,000 US dollars for a kilo.

0:21:160:21:22

Up to 50,000 a kilo?

0:21:240:21:26

Yes. So it's only used by a very small, very wealthy group of people.

0:21:260:21:31

So I would say the number one reason we believe the rhino horn's used for

0:21:310:21:36

is for social status.

0:21:360:21:38

It's really about an elite group of people showing off

0:21:380:21:40

their status to each other?

0:21:400:21:42

If you organise a party at your house with VIP guests,

0:21:420:21:47

you use rhino horn,

0:21:470:21:49

grind them up and mix with wine and drink it.

0:21:490:21:52

-And it's showing off.

-So the right clothes with the right labels,

0:21:520:21:57

the smart car and rhino horn at your parties,

0:21:570:22:01

that really establishes that you're a top player, a member of the elite?

0:22:010:22:04

Yes, yes.

0:22:040:22:05

So making a rhino horn cocktail has become the way to show off

0:22:060:22:11

for the new super-rich of Vietnam.

0:22:110:22:13

I want to find out how easy it is to get hold of,

0:22:140:22:18

but I need to be careful.

0:22:180:22:20

Investigative work by foreigners in this one-party police-run state

0:22:200:22:24

is strictly illegal.

0:22:240:22:26

Being caught would quickly land me in jail.

0:22:260:22:30

I'm just sewing a button on this shirt.

0:22:300:22:33

It's all rigged up with a tiny little lens inside there.

0:22:350:22:40

So, this is obviously for undercover filming.

0:22:400:22:42

Look at that. That will do, I think.

0:22:420:22:45

My cover story is that I'm a businessman

0:22:460:22:49

looking for an exotic new product to impress my rich clients.

0:22:490:22:53

Far Flung Foods is the name of my business.

0:22:540:22:58

I've got my business card. It's got the website address.

0:22:580:23:01

I've created a little one page "coming soon" website.

0:23:010:23:04

I've contacted an investigative reporter

0:23:060:23:08

who's agreed to help me out.

0:23:080:23:10

Hi, thanks for setting this up.

0:23:130:23:15

Shall I jump in?

0:23:150:23:16

'He's approached a dealer through his local contacts,

0:23:160:23:19

'offering to introduce a wealthy foreigner

0:23:190:23:22

'who wants to buy rhino horn. That's me.'

0:23:220:23:25

And do you know where we're going to meet this guy?

0:23:250:23:28

It's probably like the inside of coffee.

0:23:280:23:31

-A coffee shop?

-Yeah, a coffee shop.

0:23:310:23:33

'I need to come across as upbeat, friendly and genuinely keen to buy.'

0:23:330:23:38

-Hello.

-Hello.

-How are you? I'm Hugh.

0:23:380:23:41

'But that's not how I feel inside.'

0:23:410:23:43

'Change of plan.

0:23:490:23:50

'He wants to take us to his house, and I've got to run with it.

0:23:500:23:54

'And I'm not the only one who's uneasy.'

0:23:540:23:56

'My cover seems to wash.

0:24:240:24:26

'And we're straight down to business.'

0:24:270:24:29

Oh, my goodness. I wasn't expecting this to happen quite so fast.

0:24:330:24:36

MAN LAUGHS

0:24:360:24:38

-I can see straightaway that this is...

-Real.

-..real.

0:24:380:24:41

Totally. Because you've got that...

0:24:410:24:43

-Yeah, because of...

-The hairs.

0:24:430:24:45

And the way that the light comes through.

0:24:450:24:48

See that? It's extraordinary.

0:24:480:24:51

This one is like 57 million.

0:25:070:25:09

And this one, only 54.

0:25:090:25:11

'That's over £20,000 per kilo.

0:25:120:25:16

'In a country where the average wage is just £175 a month.

0:25:160:25:20

'I've seen all I need here.

0:25:210:25:23

'Now I've just got to find a reason not to do the deal.'

0:25:230:25:27

I'm very impressed. This is not about buying one thing today,

0:25:270:25:31

it's about trying to have a relationship.

0:25:310:25:34

Well done. Thank you.

0:25:510:25:52

It turns out that rhino horn is just a phone call away.

0:25:570:26:00

It's there for the taking.

0:26:000:26:02

I could have got cash out of my wallet this morning

0:26:020:26:04

and walked out with half a kilo of rhino horn,

0:26:040:26:08

and that trader would not have been remotely concerned

0:26:080:26:11

about who I was or why I was buying it.

0:26:110:26:13

He just wanted to sell it.

0:26:130:26:14

So actually, when it comes to the coal face of buying and selling

0:26:140:26:18

rhino horn, there's not much suspicion, not much anxiety.

0:26:180:26:21

If you've got the money and you want to buy it, you can have it.

0:26:210:26:24

It seems bizarre and alien to us in Europe that people would covet...

0:26:240:26:30

the horn of this animal.

0:26:300:26:32

But then there are centuries of tradition and mystique about it

0:26:320:26:37

here in Asia that add to that.

0:26:370:26:39

And if you put a layer on top of that,

0:26:390:26:42

of modern money madness and the obsession with status and wealth,

0:26:420:26:46

it seems that perhaps you get something

0:26:460:26:49

that means that people do want to hold on to this,

0:26:490:26:52

that it's going to be quite hard to shake from the culture.

0:26:520:26:55

My wildlife investigator friends Tony and TJ

0:26:580:27:01

have now arrived in Hanoi.

0:27:010:27:03

We're meeting at their hotel to plan our sting on Mr Big,

0:27:040:27:09

the man with 1 million worth of rhino horn for sale online.

0:27:090:27:13

Hi, how are you?

0:27:130:27:14

-Good, how are you?

-Really good to see you again.

0:27:140:27:17

All the way the other side of the world from where we last met.

0:27:170:27:19

We've hardly started when we are interrupted by the hotel manager.

0:27:220:27:27

He's worked out we're filming and he's not happy about it.

0:27:270:27:29

It's vital he doesn't clock what we're doing.

0:27:350:27:38

Government officials are implicated in using rhino horn,

0:27:380:27:41

so being caught trying to expose the issue would be bad news.

0:27:410:27:45

We haven't got many options,

0:27:460:27:48

so we relocate to my hotel round the corner.

0:27:480:27:50

Come on in. If you sit backs to the window,

0:27:530:27:56

that's going to help us black you out.

0:27:560:27:58

What about the main target?

0:27:580:28:00

You're going to meet him face-to-face.

0:28:000:28:01

-DISTORTED VOICE:

-That's correct.

0:28:010:28:04

And we're going to get some pictures of him and his products?

0:28:040:28:07

That's what we're hoping for, yes.

0:28:070:28:08

I can't wait to see that.

0:28:080:28:09

I can't wait to think that in the next 24 hours,

0:28:090:28:13

-we'll be bringing that in.

-That'll be exciting.

0:28:130:28:17

I know your phones are pinging. I'm sure that's back at base.

0:28:170:28:20

Just to let you know, the police

0:28:200:28:21

have actually turned up at our hotel, so...

0:28:210:28:24

Are you kidding?

0:28:240:28:25

'This is a big problem.

0:28:250:28:27

'The first hotel have all our names, and if any of us are caught,

0:28:270:28:31

'we could be charged with espionage.

0:28:310:28:34

'Tony and TJ leave to grab their gear and make their escape.

0:28:340:28:37

'The bottom line is we have to get out of here - fast.'

0:28:380:28:41

I've never done anything like this before.

0:28:430:28:46

My heart's thumping right now.

0:28:460:28:47

'It's too risky to take the undercover gear with us.'

0:28:470:28:50

That's all staying here in Vietnam.

0:28:500:28:53

It's basically a total giveaway.

0:28:530:28:56

'But the secret footage from meeting the rhino horn dealer

0:28:560:29:00

'is too precious to ditch. I'm burying the memory card deep.'

0:29:000:29:03

Hopefully no-one is going to look in my dirty laundry.

0:29:050:29:07

Abandoning our sting on Mr Big

0:29:140:29:16

is a huge disappointment, but the thought of

0:29:160:29:18

a Vietnamese jail is even more motivating right now.

0:29:180:29:21

I just want to get out before the message reaches

0:29:210:29:25

the airport to stop us.

0:29:250:29:26

So, sitting down on the plane, due to take off in just a few minutes.

0:29:320:29:37

We're not quite there yet.

0:29:370:29:39

When the wheels leave the ground, that's when I'll feel all right.

0:29:390:29:43

That is us off the ground and in the air,

0:29:560:29:58

and there's only one way to describe how I feel right now.

0:29:580:30:02

-BLEEP

-relieved.

0:30:020:30:04

Goodbye, Vietnam.

0:30:040:30:06

Amazingly, just three weeks after we left Hanoi in a hurry,

0:30:180:30:22

Tony managed to get a second undercover team into Vietnam.

0:30:220:30:25

I can't wait to find out what they've come back with

0:30:260:30:29

on Little Wu's nemesis, Mr Big.

0:30:290:30:32

Things went very well for us.

0:30:320:30:34

Excellent, they made contact with Mr Big?

0:30:340:30:36

-Yes, they did, yeah.

-The same guy who sent those pictures of,

0:30:360:30:40

I think it was 11 rhino horns to Little Wu?

0:30:400:30:43

Any sign of them when you got there?

0:30:430:30:44

Unfortunately when we got there, he was out of rhino horn,

0:30:440:30:47

so we asked him what did he have available, and he had some ivory.

0:30:470:30:51

Really? So this is our guy? This is Mr Big?

0:30:510:30:54

-That's Mr Big.

-Oh, my God.

0:30:540:30:57

So, he showed us about 440 kilos of ivory.

0:30:570:31:01

That's a lot of tusks on that pile.

0:31:010:31:03

-440 kilos?!

-Yeah.

0:31:030:31:06

How many individual tusks, roughly, do you think that was?

0:31:060:31:09

I can't tell you the exact count, but in excess of 100.

0:31:090:31:12

Did he give a per-kilo price for that?

0:31:120:31:15

It basically worked out about half a million US for the whole lot.

0:31:150:31:18

-And he was quite keen to shift all of it, was he?

-Yeah.

0:31:180:31:22

We still think the main market is China,

0:31:220:31:25

but what we have been told is that major traffickers

0:31:250:31:27

are now stockpiling ivory, because they think that the trade

0:31:270:31:34

will rebound eventually, so they are buying the commodities now,

0:31:340:31:38

buying the wildlife products now at a cheap price,

0:31:380:31:41

hoping to sell them in the future.

0:31:410:31:43

So we are looking at speculators here,

0:31:430:31:45

especially with this raw ivory?

0:31:450:31:47

'This intelligence that the kingpins

0:31:470:31:50

'of wildlife crime are speculating on

0:31:500:31:52

'a future ivory trade is pretty terrifying.

0:31:520:31:56

'Any market in ivory supports that speculation.'

0:31:560:31:59

And the legal UK ivory market is potentially huge.

0:32:010:32:05

-NEWSREEL NARRATOR:

-In this London warehouse, from tusk to mirror,

0:32:070:32:10

everything goes at top speed.

0:32:100:32:12

We've travelled a long way from the African elephant.

0:32:120:32:16

Between 1860 and 1920,

0:32:160:32:19

Britain imported the tusks of over one million African elephants.

0:32:190:32:23

That's more than twice the number alive in Africa today.

0:32:230:32:27

Much of this now makes up our own stockpile of worked ivory.

0:32:270:32:32

Official records show thousands of such pieces

0:32:320:32:35

are being sold into Asian markets every year,

0:32:350:32:38

and that's just the legal stuff.

0:32:380:32:41

What's heading out of the UK under the radar?

0:32:410:32:43

I go to speak to the head of the Border Force wildlife team,

0:32:440:32:47

Grant Miller.

0:32:470:32:49

He shows me a small selection of the smuggled UK ivory

0:32:490:32:52

seized by his team,

0:32:520:32:53

all leaving the country without proper paperwork.

0:32:530:32:56

And these are all worked pieces of ivory here, are they?

0:32:570:33:01

These are the types of things that are being shipped out to

0:33:010:33:03

China and Hong Kong, likely to be re-carved,

0:33:030:33:06

reworked into an item that they actually want.

0:33:060:33:10

They can be anything from Victorian hairbrushes,

0:33:100:33:12

which can be a substantial weight of ivory at the back of it.

0:33:120:33:15

So that's your Chinese nationals who are just sourcing any ivory

0:33:150:33:20

they can to fuel the demand.

0:33:200:33:21

And this is an ongoing problem, week in, week out?

0:33:210:33:24

When did you last get a seizure?

0:33:240:33:26

Last week, I made 18 seizures of ivory at the UK border on export.

0:33:260:33:31

-18 in a week?

-18 in a week.

-All elephant ivory?

0:33:310:33:34

All elephant ivory going to China and going to Hong Kong.

0:33:340:33:38

Clearly, huge amounts of UK ivory is reaching Asia,

0:33:390:33:43

both legally and illegally.

0:33:430:33:45

And this is a trade that our government

0:33:450:33:48

has twice promised to ban.

0:33:480:33:50

It's a promise I first wrote to them about more than two months ago.

0:33:500:33:55

I've been pushing the Government for an interview to clarify their policy

0:33:550:33:58

on UK ivory, and I've finally had a reply from

0:33:580:34:01

the Ministry of the Environment.

0:34:010:34:04

"The minister will not be able to take part in your programme

0:34:050:34:08

"on this occasion."

0:34:080:34:10

Well, if there's one thing I've learnt trying to get interviews

0:34:100:34:13

with ministers, it's that the first no doesn't really count.

0:34:130:34:16

You have to keep trying.

0:34:160:34:18

Convert that no into a maybe and eventually get a yes.

0:34:180:34:22

So I've bashed out a reply straightaway.

0:34:220:34:24

"Dear Minister, I was very disappointed to hear

0:34:250:34:28

"that you've declined my request for a filmed interview."

0:34:280:34:31

The problem of historic ivory stocks is one the UK Government

0:34:340:34:37

seems reluctant to talk about.

0:34:370:34:39

But earlier this year, the government of Kenya

0:34:410:34:44

invited me to attend an event addressing just this issue.

0:34:440:34:47

-You can have it.

-Yeah?

-You can have it.

0:34:480:34:50

Just outside Nairobi, Kenya is preparing

0:34:520:34:55

to make an extraordinary statement to the world.

0:34:550:34:58

Hi there.

0:35:020:35:04

These 12 mounds make up virtually all of Kenya's ivory stockpile.

0:35:040:35:09

They are the accumulation of tusks seized from poachers

0:35:120:35:15

and collected from elephants that have died naturally.

0:35:150:35:18

And they are all about to go up in flames.

0:35:230:35:26

They're heavy. They are really heavy.

0:35:290:35:32

In charge of the logistics of this extraordinary event

0:35:390:35:42

is Patrick Omondi of the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

0:35:420:35:46

What's the total tonnage on this site?

0:35:460:35:48

How many tonness of ivory are you going to burn?

0:35:480:35:50

We are going to torch 105 tonnes.

0:35:500:35:52

-105

-tonnes. Yes, of ivory, and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn.

0:35:520:35:58

-Gosh.

-Yes.

-Have you any idea what the value of that would be

0:35:580:36:02

if it was being traded internationally?

0:36:020:36:05

We, as a country, we have, eh,

0:36:050:36:09

not put a price to ivory.

0:36:090:36:11

We still believe ivory is worth more

0:36:110:36:15

when it is in a living elephant.

0:36:150:36:18

We lose approximately 35,000 elephants a year in Africa.

0:36:180:36:23

35,000 elephants.

0:36:230:36:25

And most of those, you don't get the ivory back?

0:36:250:36:29

Most of them, you don't get ivory back.

0:36:290:36:31

So if we had the stocks here,

0:36:310:36:33

I think we would be having three or four times...

0:36:330:36:36

-Really?

-..of ivory.

0:36:360:36:37

Three or four times this if you'd managed

0:36:370:36:39

to collect all the ivory poached in Africa in just one year?

0:36:390:36:42

-In one year.

-We'd be looking at four times as many piles.

0:36:420:36:45

-Yes, four times as many piles.

-That's extraordinary.

0:36:450:36:49

Kenya deliberately refuses to acknowledge the cash value

0:36:490:36:53

of the ivory they're destroying,

0:36:530:36:55

but a bit of mental maths tells me that it's over £100 million worth.

0:36:550:37:01

In recent years, Botswana, South Africa,

0:37:010:37:04

Zimbabwe and Namibia were permitted one-off sales

0:37:040:37:07

of their ivory stockpiles to Asia.

0:37:070:37:09

Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta

0:37:110:37:13

is one of many who argues that these sales fuelled the demand for ivory

0:37:130:37:18

and lead to increased poaching all over Africa.

0:37:180:37:21

No-one has any business trading in ivory,

0:37:230:37:27

for this trade means death.

0:37:270:37:31

Death for our elephants and death for our natural heritage.

0:37:310:37:37

In destroying the ivory,

0:37:370:37:39

we reject once and for all those who think that our natural heritage

0:37:390:37:45

can be sold for money.

0:37:450:37:47

If you walked in on this scene and you haven't heard

0:37:560:37:58

any of the arguments or discussions about why this is happening,

0:37:580:38:01

you'd think this was the maddest thing you'd ever, ever seen.

0:38:010:38:04

The tusks of 8,000 African elephants going up in flames.

0:38:060:38:10

Why is it happening?

0:38:100:38:11

It's really hard to explain why it's happening,

0:38:130:38:16

and it's not completely clear whether this will change anything,

0:38:160:38:20

but there are a lot of people here,

0:38:200:38:22

including three African presidents,

0:38:220:38:24

who are determined that it WILL change something.

0:38:240:38:27

And, you know, right now, I feel it's got to change something.

0:38:270:38:29

I don't want to have been here and seen this

0:38:290:38:32

for it NOT to change something.

0:38:320:38:34

Watching the tusks of 8,000 elephants burn,

0:38:430:38:46

I can't help remembering the ivory of over a million elephants

0:38:460:38:50

that Britain took from Africa.

0:38:500:38:52

Isn't it now our responsibility to make sure that what remains

0:38:540:38:59

of our ivory plays no part in fuelling

0:38:590:39:01

the poaching of elephants in Africa today?

0:39:010:39:04

That's the question I want to ask our government.

0:39:070:39:10

But two weeks after my last e-mail to the minister,

0:39:100:39:13

I still don't have a reply.

0:39:130:39:15

So what is our government going to do about our stockpile?

0:39:150:39:19

Are we going to get the promised ban on the ivory trade?

0:39:190:39:22

I don't know, because I can't get them to talk about it.

0:39:220:39:25

They haven't even replied to my last request for an interview.

0:39:250:39:29

But I'm not giving up. I'm going to give it one more shot.

0:39:290:39:32

I'm going to write to the minister's boss,

0:39:320:39:36

the Secretary of State for the Environment.

0:39:360:39:38

"Dear Right Honourable...

0:39:400:39:44

"Andrea Leadsom."

0:39:440:39:45

There are some high-profile figures here in the UK working to try

0:39:560:40:00

and reduce the market value of ivory and rhino horn.

0:40:000:40:05

I'm on my way to meet one of the UK's figureheads

0:40:080:40:12

for conservation of rhino and elephant.

0:40:120:40:16

The fact that he's actually made himself available

0:40:160:40:18

for a TV ad that's been broadcast all over Asia

0:40:180:40:21

I think really shows the level of his commitment.

0:40:210:40:24

For some species, it's almost too late.

0:40:270:40:30

We could fill this stadium and many more

0:40:300:40:33

if we could stop the illegal trade.

0:40:330:40:35

Ask your friends and family never to buy rhino horn.

0:40:370:40:40

And together, we CAN save our wild rhinos.

0:40:400:40:44

-When the buying stops...

-The killing can too.

0:40:440:40:47

This ad, by the NGO WildAid,

0:40:490:40:51

was played up to 70 times a day on Chinese state TV.

0:40:510:40:55

It's part of a strategy to try and change

0:40:560:40:59

the culture of desiring wildlife products,

0:40:590:41:01

called demand reduction.

0:41:010:41:04

Good morning, your Royal Highness.

0:41:040:41:06

-Good morning to you. How are you?

-Good.

0:41:060:41:08

-Nice to see you.

-Good to see you.

0:41:080:41:10

Where do you think the solution lies, the big picture solution?

0:41:100:41:14

The big picture solution is definitely in the demand side.

0:41:140:41:17

It is the key, but it's also the biggest and hardest thing to tackle.

0:41:170:41:20

And it's not something you can just fix really quickly.

0:41:200:41:24

We have to find a way of reducing the demand,

0:41:240:41:26

making it much less attractive.

0:41:260:41:27

You've felt so strongly about this that you've done something

0:41:270:41:31

which is quite unusual for a member of the royal family,

0:41:310:41:35

which is that you've stepped up and appeared in a TV ad

0:41:350:41:38

alongside two great sporting superstars.

0:41:380:41:41

Do you have any evidence that this demand reduction

0:41:410:41:44

and the kind of work you've been doing is really starting to bite?

0:41:440:41:47

I do. I think it is starting to bite.

0:41:470:41:51

If you look at what's happened with shark fin soup, Save the Whale,

0:41:510:41:55

all those sorts of campaigns,

0:41:550:41:57

they took a bit of time to get going,

0:41:570:41:58

but once they reached a certain level, they took off.

0:41:580:42:01

Ivory needs to become unfashionable and undesirable, and I still believe

0:42:010:42:04

that if we can get this campaign to the level it should be at,

0:42:040:42:07

it will turn the corner and it will start snowballing

0:42:070:42:10

into a real positive movement.

0:42:100:42:12

Back in southern Africa, many are arguing

0:42:190:42:21

that the strategy of demand reduction is failing

0:42:210:42:24

to save Africa's most threatened species.

0:42:240:42:26

I'm on my way to a farm outside Johannesburg whose owner advocates

0:42:280:42:32

a radically different approach

0:42:320:42:34

to safeguarding the future of the rhino.

0:42:340:42:37

This is home to the largest herd of rhino in the world.

0:42:380:42:42

They are owned by John Hume.

0:42:420:42:44

It's quite something to be able to look at rhinos

0:42:540:42:56

in these kind of numbers.

0:42:560:42:58

Oh, yes.

0:42:580:42:59

'John started his breeding project in 1992

0:42:590:43:03

'with just five rhino. He now has over 1,300 of them.'

0:43:030:43:07

How would you describe the contribution

0:43:080:43:10

that you've made to rhino conservation,

0:43:100:43:12

helping the African rhino population?

0:43:120:43:15

Only in numbers, really, because I haven't spread them anywhere.

0:43:150:43:18

Which I could go on doing.

0:43:180:43:20

Buy more land, breed more rhinos.

0:43:200:43:22

But in order to do that, I'll need a lot of money,

0:43:220:43:25

and the security is now one-and-a-half times

0:43:250:43:28

what all the rest of the costs are put together.

0:43:280:43:30

So it's not sustainable.

0:43:300:43:32

Protection is easily your biggest expense?

0:43:320:43:35

Oh, yeah, by far. It's much bigger

0:43:350:43:37

than all the other expenses put together.

0:43:370:43:40

John wants to pursue a controversial way to pay for protecting his rhino.

0:43:400:43:45

He's been humanely removing their horns

0:43:450:43:48

and has built up reserves worth millions of pounds.

0:43:480:43:52

But, at the moment, he can't legally sell it.

0:43:520:43:54

I'm convinced that the only way

0:43:550:43:58

we're going to save rhinos is to legalise

0:43:580:44:00

the trade in their horns.

0:44:000:44:02

I understand completely how selling rhino horn will help

0:44:020:44:06

your business here, help you keep this thing going,

0:44:060:44:09

but I'm a bit less clear on how

0:44:090:44:11

it will help the African rhino generally.

0:44:110:44:14

That part is easy.

0:44:140:44:16

I do not believe that putting more horn on the market

0:44:160:44:21

is going to stimulate the demand. I believe the opposite.

0:44:210:44:25

The government has got 28 tonne of horn, I have five tonne of horn.

0:44:250:44:30

So we have over 30 tonne of horn.

0:44:300:44:33

We could easily, sustainably sell six or seven tonne

0:44:330:44:38

of horn into the demand, and thus, I believe,

0:44:380:44:41

lessen the demand into Kruger National Park.

0:44:410:44:47

Lessen the pressure on the wild rhino?

0:44:470:44:49

Lessen the pressure on the wild rhino.

0:44:490:44:52

The principal alternative argument

0:44:520:44:54

to commercialisation and open trade

0:44:540:44:57

in rhino horn is demand reduction.

0:44:570:44:59

Isn't this just the moment when demand reduction

0:44:590:45:03

might start to bite and, inevitably,

0:45:030:45:05

illegal trade has to end up in demand increase?

0:45:050:45:09

No, I'm sorry, I don't accept that at all.

0:45:090:45:11

What do you think I should do?

0:45:110:45:14

Sitting here, knowing that without selling my horn,

0:45:140:45:17

all of these 1,360 rhino are going to be dead in ten or 12 years' time.

0:45:170:45:23

-Poached?

-What do you expect me to do?

0:45:230:45:24

-They'll be poached?

-Poached or I'll be forced to sell them to people

0:45:240:45:29

who are not as legitimate as I am

0:45:290:45:31

and they will kill them for the black market,

0:45:310:45:34

because it's worth more on the black market.

0:45:340:45:36

Because you haven't won, yet, your demand reduction fight.

0:45:360:45:40

I've now visited four different countries in Africa and two in Asia,

0:46:020:46:07

and what have I found out?

0:46:070:46:09

What do I think?

0:46:090:46:11

It does seem to boil down to these two polar positions.

0:46:140:46:18

One of them, idealistic and high-minded

0:46:180:46:22

and hopeful that people can change,

0:46:220:46:25

cultures can change, and we don't have to go on

0:46:250:46:28

desiring objects made from our wildlife.

0:46:280:46:31

And the other position that says that's not realistic,

0:46:320:46:35

it's never going to happen, it's all about money.

0:46:350:46:38

If it pays, it stays.

0:46:380:46:40

We have to recognise the value of these animals,

0:46:400:46:42

it's the only way they're going to survive.

0:46:420:46:45

My heart says, "Let's get to a better place.

0:46:450:46:48

"Let's change the culture.

0:46:480:46:50

"Let's have a world where consuming wildlife is not the only thing

0:46:500:46:55

"that justifies its existence."

0:46:550:46:58

But if I'm going to get behind that,

0:46:580:47:00

I have to truly believe that this demand reduction mission

0:47:000:47:04

can really be achieved.

0:47:040:47:06

One country in the world consumes more ivory than any other.

0:47:080:47:13

And with a population of 1.3 billion,

0:47:130:47:16

there's plenty of potential for further customers.

0:47:160:47:20

I'm heading for a city in China

0:47:200:47:21

that's been at the centre

0:47:210:47:23

of the ivory carving industry for centuries.

0:47:230:47:25

I want to get under the skin of a culture that still values ivory.

0:47:300:47:35

And so I've arranged to meet a few people who own some.

0:47:350:47:38

-Hello.

-Hi, Yami, how are you?

0:47:380:47:40

I understand that you've bought a few pieces of ivory.

0:47:400:47:44

I'd be really interested to see them.

0:47:440:47:46

This is a very light thing, isn't it?

0:47:510:47:53

It's very small.

0:47:530:47:54

'I show Yami, her son and friend

0:47:540:47:56

'some of the recent Wild Aid campaign videos.

0:47:560:48:00

'They feature big Asian stars

0:48:000:48:01

'pushing the message of demand reduction.'

0:48:010:48:04

Please, be ivory-free.

0:48:070:48:10

Hi, Catherine. 'Next, I meet Catherine and her daughter.'

0:48:240:48:28

When I watch the advert,

0:48:280:48:29

I understand they're actually killing the live animal

0:48:290:48:33

and just taking the tooth or horns.

0:48:330:48:37

Very shocking.

0:48:370:48:38

To see another way the message is being put across,

0:48:390:48:42

I join an ivory awareness event

0:48:420:48:44

at one of Guangzhou's huge shopping malls.

0:48:440:48:46

Events like this are regularly being held

0:48:470:48:50

in different cities across China.

0:48:500:48:52

Well, this is fun. We've got an interactive elephant

0:48:540:48:56

here in the mall.

0:48:560:48:58

Here comes the gun. Here comes the target.

0:49:030:49:06

And at the end of all the fun,

0:49:060:49:07

we hear a bang and the elephant goes down.

0:49:070:49:09

When did you first understand that ivory came only from elephants

0:49:090:49:12

that had been killed?

0:49:120:49:15

Do you think this can change the way people think about ivory?

0:49:260:49:29

There's also a change in attitude happening

0:49:430:49:46

at the top in China.

0:49:460:49:47

-NEWSREADER:

-US President Barack Obama

0:49:490:49:51

and China's president Xi Jinping

0:49:510:49:52

have announced a commitment to ban commercial trade

0:49:520:49:55

of ivory in their respective countries.

0:49:550:49:58

President Xi still needs to commit to the timing of his ban,

0:49:580:50:02

but it feels like there is real momentum

0:50:020:50:04

for change here in China.

0:50:040:50:06

Are you sure that you will never buy ivory?

0:50:060:50:09

Yeah, I'm sure.

0:50:090:50:10

If the ivory trade were to be legalised now,

0:50:100:50:14

which is what some southern African countries are arguing for,

0:50:140:50:17

it would completely undermine this work.

0:50:170:50:19

I think the world needs to see what I'm seeing here.

0:50:210:50:23

We're asking people today if they want

0:50:250:50:27

to make a personal commitment never to buy ivory.

0:50:270:50:29

Would you like to do that today?

0:50:290:50:32

No problem, OK.

0:50:320:50:34

OK. That's good.

0:50:340:50:35

Two, three, and turn it over.

0:50:350:50:37

That looks great, but what does it say?

0:50:400:50:42

HE READS ALOUD IN OWN LANGUAGE

0:50:420:50:44

I've been really touched by these

0:50:470:50:48

pledges that have been made today.

0:50:480:50:50

You know, it gives me a lot of hope.

0:50:500:50:52

People today are telling me that

0:50:520:50:54

demand reduction CAN work, it is working,

0:50:540:50:56

and they want to be part of it,

0:50:560:50:58

and that's a message I'm very happy

0:50:580:51:00

to take out to the rest of the world.

0:51:000:51:02

It's become clear to me that the solution

0:51:140:51:16

to the killing of Africa's elephants relies

0:51:160:51:19

on the world pulling together to end the ivory trade.

0:51:190:51:23

In a few days' time, delegates from 183 countries

0:51:230:51:27

will be attending a wildlife trade conference

0:51:270:51:30

in Johannesburg called CITES.

0:51:300:51:32

Ivory is top of the agenda,

0:51:330:51:36

with some countries asking once again

0:51:360:51:38

to be allowed to sell their ivory stockpiles

0:51:380:51:40

and others pushing for an outright ban.

0:51:400:51:44

So, is the UK going to attend the CITES conference

0:51:450:51:49

with a weaker commitment to ending our own ivory trade

0:51:490:51:52

than China and America?

0:51:520:51:54

I've been asked to speak at the View From The Shard

0:51:540:51:57

at a pre-CITES event in London. But the day before,

0:51:570:52:01

the hot news is that the UK Government

0:52:010:52:03

might just have been stirred into action.

0:52:030:52:06

The Times front-page headline this morning,

0:52:090:52:11

"Britain to crack down on illegal ivory."

0:52:110:52:13

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is on the line now.

0:52:130:52:17

'I'm being asked to comment on the problem of the UK trade.'

0:52:170:52:20

UK ivory ends up in the Asian market,

0:52:200:52:23

the Asian market is what's killing African elephants.

0:52:230:52:26

'And my hopes for a total ban from our government.'

0:52:260:52:29

The announcement, if it comes, will come tomorrow with Hugh there,

0:52:290:52:33

the Duke of Cambridge and the minister from Defra too.

0:52:330:52:36

In fact, the announcement's early.

0:52:360:52:38

Well, this has just come through.

0:52:400:52:41

GOV.UK. Press release.

0:52:420:52:45

"UK ban on modern-day ivory sales."

0:52:450:52:49

I read this and I was about to punch the air with excitement,

0:52:490:52:51

and then I did a double-take. Hang on - modern-day ivory sales.

0:52:510:52:56

Modern-day ivory sales are practically banned already.

0:52:560:52:59

To do any trade at all in modern-day ivory in the UK,

0:52:590:53:03

you need a special licence from CITES,

0:53:030:53:05

and I know from talking to Defra

0:53:050:53:07

that only 150 of those were issued in the last year.

0:53:070:53:11

Meanwhile, we are selling thousands of pieces of our antique ivory

0:53:110:53:16

to Asia, to the corrupt market that is responsible

0:53:160:53:20

for the killing of elephants in Africa.

0:53:200:53:22

What's been done about that, our antique ivory?

0:53:220:53:25

There is something here at the bottom.

0:53:250:53:27

"Trade in works of art and ornaments dating from before 1947,

0:53:270:53:31

"deemed antiques, will continue to be permitted."

0:53:310:53:35

That means our entire stockpile of antique ivory,

0:53:350:53:38

the stuff that's heading off to Asia as fast as we can sell it,

0:53:380:53:42

is still up for grabs.

0:53:420:53:44

I'm afraid our minister has spectacularly missed the point here.

0:53:450:53:48

I really hope she's at the Shard tomorrow,

0:53:480:53:50

because I'm dying to talk to her.

0:53:500:53:52

The next day, as the event gets underway,

0:53:570:54:00

I'm poised for my chance finally to speak

0:54:000:54:02

about ivory with Andrea Leadsom.

0:54:020:54:04

This way.

0:54:080:54:10

Minister, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

0:54:100:54:12

-Oh, hello. Nice to meet you.

-Very nice to meet you.

0:54:120:54:15

Very much hoping to talk to you a little bit

0:54:150:54:17

about the announcement you made yesterday.

0:54:170:54:19

This is a first step. I think it sends

0:54:190:54:21

a really important message to the world that

0:54:210:54:23

trade in ivory is just unacceptable.

0:54:230:54:25

You know, we've got to do something to save these iconic animals.

0:54:250:54:29

But actually, a ban on modern-day ivory is absolutely key

0:54:290:54:32

at the moment, and so that's the first step.

0:54:320:54:35

One of the clearest lines in your press release yesterday

0:54:350:54:37

said it would be business as usual for pre-1947 ivory.

0:54:370:54:41

That could continue to be traded.

0:54:410:54:43

Is that something you can look at if there is clear evidence

0:54:430:54:47

that pre-1947 ivory is implicated in export to Asia,

0:54:470:54:51

where of course it then stimulates the trade

0:54:510:54:54

and plays a role in covering the ivory

0:54:540:54:56

from poached African elephants?

0:54:560:54:58

So, as I say,

0:54:580:54:59

I think the announcement we've made to ban the trade in modern-day ivory

0:54:590:55:03

is a really important first step.

0:55:030:55:05

We will meet our manifesto commitment,

0:55:050:55:08

what we're trying to do...

0:55:080:55:09

The manifesto commitment was for a total ban.

0:55:090:55:12

-Yes, that's right.

-So that should include pre-'47 ivory in due course?

0:55:120:55:15

-And as I said...

-But yesterday's statement said that that could continue to be traded,

0:55:150:55:19

so that seems to actually actively contradict your manifesto pledge.

0:55:190:55:23

Manifesto pledge - total ban.

0:55:230:55:25

Yesterday's statement - pre-1947, no problem.

0:55:250:55:29

Which of those two is ultimately going to stack up?

0:55:290:55:31

We're totally committed to our manifesto.

0:55:310:55:34

So ultimately a total ban?

0:55:340:55:36

And yesterday was a good first step

0:55:360:55:38

that sends an important message to the world

0:55:380:55:40

about the protection of these iconic animals,

0:55:400:55:42

-which is absolutely vital.

-So any suggestion that pre-1947...

0:55:420:55:47

-Thanks.

-Any suggestion that pre-1947...

0:55:470:55:50

-Thank you.

-..will remain legal could come under review?

0:55:500:55:54

OK, well, that may be the best shot

0:55:540:55:56

we get at talking to Andrea Leadsom today.

0:55:560:55:58

I just don't understand why the Government

0:56:000:56:02

aren't taking more positive action on this.

0:56:020:56:05

Can concerns for a small section of the antiques trade

0:56:050:56:08

really outweigh doing everything we can to save the elephant?

0:56:080:56:12

Right now though, I need to concentrate on this event.

0:56:140:56:17

It's being covered by the world's media and beamed live to the city

0:56:170:56:21

hosting the CITES conference, Johannesburg.

0:56:210:56:23

It's my chance to present what I've discovered in Africa, Asia,

0:56:250:56:29

Europe and the UK and explain my conclusion that banning the trade

0:56:290:56:34

completely is the only answer.

0:56:340:56:36

Your Royal Highness, ladies and gentlemen

0:56:430:56:46

and the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, good afternoon.

0:56:460:56:50

We must now decide whether to keep open the possibility

0:56:500:56:55

of legal trade in the products of rhinos and elephants

0:56:550:56:59

or to do all that we can to eradicate demand

0:56:590:57:03

and end the trade once and for all.

0:57:030:57:06

I've spent six months on a filmed quest to try to find out

0:57:060:57:09

what the solutions might be.

0:57:090:57:12

I have taken sides in this debate.

0:57:120:57:15

We have to end this trade.

0:57:150:57:17

For good.

0:57:170:57:19

My investigation into what's driving the illegal ivory trade

0:57:220:57:26

and what we should be doing about it has come to an end.

0:57:260:57:31

For now.

0:57:310:57:32

But there has been an important development

0:57:340:57:37

from the delegates in South Africa.

0:57:370:57:39

The CITES conference in Johannesburg has produced

0:57:400:57:43

one really important resolution for Africa's elephants,

0:57:430:57:47

and these are the critical words.

0:57:470:57:49

All 183 countries at CITES, including the UK,

0:57:490:57:54

have promised to close down any "legal domestic market for ivory

0:57:540:57:58

"that is contributing to poaching or illegal trade."

0:57:580:58:04

I think my films have proved that here in the UK,

0:58:040:58:07

by selling our antique ivory into the Asian market,

0:58:070:58:11

we are contributing to poaching and the illegal trade.

0:58:110:58:15

These words are the new mandate for global change, and if we're going to

0:58:150:58:19

ask the rest of the world to take action on ivory,

0:58:190:58:22

then surely we have to take action ourselves.

0:58:220:58:26

So, come on, let's ban the UK ivory trade.

0:58:260:58:29

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