Wildlife trafficking is one of the causes I’ve been fighting for the longest at the LPO.
In 2012, the LPO was one of the first organisations to take action against a reality that was still largely unknown at the time: wildlife trafficking, specifically trafficking that passed through Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. The animals were seized by customs and had no suitable place to be taken. Some of these animals were euthanised, while others, particularly due to health and infectious disease risks, were frozen alive.
The efforts of the LPO and its president, Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, contributed to a concrete breakthrough: Charles de Gaulle Airport opened a facility to temporarily house live animals seized by customs.
Since joining the LPO in 2015, I have never stopped advocating for this issue, whether within the organisation or through my other commitments, including on-site visits to the airport, accompanying journalists, raising awareness among ministers and public officials, mobilising members of parliament, submitting written questions, and even securing the establishment of a parliamentary commission of inquiry.
A single goal guides all these efforts: to ensure that major French ports and airports have suitable facilities to temporarily house seized wild animals, rather than having to euthanise them due to a lack of alternatives.
This fight has also extended to the international level. In particular, it has helped bring the issue of wildlife trafficking to the IUCN World Conservation Congress, leading to the adoption of an international resolution on the subject.
More than ten years after I first became involved, I remain convinced that combating wildlife trafficking requires combining on-the-ground action, expertise, public engagement, and political decision-making.
