NEW YORK – United Nations World Wildlife Day is Saturday, March 3. It is the global celebration of the many beautiful and varied forms of wild animals and plants on our planet, as well as an occasion to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to both wildlife and people,and the plight of many threatened or endangered species.

World Wildlife Day is celebrated annually on March 3, the day the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973. CITES is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

This year, the theme is “Big cats: predators under threat.” These majestic animals are under threat in the wild from poaching and trafficking. Tiger populations have declined by 97 percent, and fewer than 3,900 tigers remain in the wild. Tigers are often poached for their pelts, and for their body parts that are used in traditional Asian medicines. That’s why LiveAuctioneers has teamed up with the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance to protect wildlife from illegal trade.

LiveAuctioneers is working with the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance to help combat wildlife trafficking and protect big cats from illegal trade. The USWTA is a coalition of leading companies and nonprofit organizations that are working together to combat wildlife trafficking by (1) raising public awareness; (2) reducing consumer demand for wildlife and wildlife products; and (3) mobilizing companies to adopt best practices and help close off wildlife traffickers’ supply chains.

LiveAuctioneers is helping to combat wildlife trafficking in the following ways:

–Working with the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance as part of a coalition to raise awareness about wildlife trafficking, reduce demand for illegal wildlife products and mobilize companies to adopt best practices that stop the supply chain of illegal wildlife products.

–Continuing to diligently police its auction site with a zero tolerance regarding the sale of all ivory-related material. In efforts to better police the site, LiveAuctioneers has automated the search and discovery of ivory-related items and will be expanding its monitoring to include additional endangered animals. Since the implementation of the No Ivory Policy in 2017, LiveAuctioneers strictly enforces such policy with regular communication to sellers.

World Wildlife Day aims to involve the global community by raising awareness of the issues surrounding wildlife conservation and protection around the world.

Big cats are among the most widely recognized and admired animals across the globe. However, today these charismatic predators are facing many and varied threats, which are mostly caused by human activities. Overall, their populations are declining at a disturbing rate due to loss of habitat and prey, conflicts with people, poaching and illegal trade. For example, African lion populations dropped by 40 percent in just 20 years. But a range of measures is underway to arrest this decline.

In an effort to reach as wide an audience as possible, the expanded definition of big cats is being used, which includes not only lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar – the four largest wild cats that can roar – but also cheetah, snow leopard, puma, clouded leopard, etc. Big cat species are found in Africa, Asia, and North, Central and South America, representing a virtually global distribution.

Over the past century, the world has been losing big cats, the planet’s most majestic predators, at an alarming rate. World Wildlife Day 2018 gives us the opportunity to raise awareness about their plight and to galvanize support for the many global and national actions that are underway to save these iconic species. Through World Wildlife Day big cats will generate the level of attention they all deserve to be sure they are with us for generations to come.

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