New film calls on G20 world leaders to end the horrors of the global wildlife trade

As the G20 leaders gather in Italy on Halloween (October 30/31), billions of wild animals around the world continue to live a nightmare at the hands of the brutal wildlife trade. 

This horrifying industry keeps animals captive and caged in cramped, squalid conditions – treating them as commodities, not sentient, living creatures that feel pain.

And while animals suffer, their exploitation creates dangerous environments that act as a hotbed for emerging infectious diseases, putting us all at risk of the next global pandemic.

Our new short film ‘Horrors of the Wildlife Trade’ exposes the true horrors of the wildlife trade as World Animal Protection once again calls on G20 leaders to come together to change lives and end the cruel exploitation of animals – for wildlife, people and the planet.

Exposing cruelty

The Horrors of the Wildlife Trade, by Aaron Gekoski, opens with some haunting images of animal suffering in the wildlife trade, while showing that uniting to demand change for animals can result in changing lives. Forever.

The internationally acclaimed environmental photojournalist and film-maker has dedicated his life’s work to ending the exploitation of wildlife, witnessing and capturing terrible animal suffering along the way. 

This new film highlights how the fate of animals, people and our global economy rests in the hands of G20 leaders, who have the opportunity to address this terrible suffering, while preventing the next pandemic - by ending the devastating global wildlife trade. 

Join us again 

In 2020, as the pandemic gripped the world, we gathered over one million signatures from people across the globe, demanding the world’s key decision makers, readying themselves for the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia, addressed the real threat of the wildlife trade. Sadly, these many voices remained largely ignored then and are being ignored now. This needs to change.

The theme of this year’s G20 summit is People, Planet and Prosperity. The wildlife trade threatens all three by directly impacting billions of animals, human health, global and local economies, biodiversity and our planet. 

Our leaders must act to end the exploitation of animals. Because when they suffer, we all suffer.

Join us to demand again that the leaders of the G20 commit to a global ban of wild animal trade, forever.

Watch the film and share and comment to @g20org using the hashtag #EndWildlifeTrade.