Cheetahs are the fastest land animal in the world, they can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just 3 seconds and are the only big cat that can turn in mid-air while sprinting. What many people don’t know though, is the vast and intricate illegal trafficking of cheetahs that goes on around the world to support a pet trade.
Cheetahs are being taken out of the wild in huge numbers in a practice that is both cruel and life threatening as many cheetahs die in the process. Now a 3-year effort, by a coalition of many countries, means cheetahs get a new chance for survival. An important decision has been made concerning their illegal trafficking by the Conference of the Parties of the Convention of International Trade on Endangered Species.
99FM’s MYD Earth spoke to the Assistant Director for Strategic Communications and Illegal Wildlife Trade, Patricia Tricorache, from the Cheetah Conservation Fund, to find out what this means and why it’s important.
Here are some of the areas covered in this episode of MYD Earth :
- How social media was used to uncover the illegal trafficking of cheetahs for the pet trade
- The numbers of cheetahs being traded illegally and what this means to their already threatened wild population
- The cheetah trade resource kit that is being developed to support law enforcement to fight the illegal trafficking of cheetahs
- How Namibia is the trend setter in cheetah conservation and success
Take a listen to the MYD Earth show with Patricia Tricorache from the Cheetah Conservation Fund, here :
https://soundcloud.com/99fm/myd-earth-cheetah
Find out more about the Cheetah Conservation Fund by clicking here