
Qatar’s national carrier has signed an international agreementĀ to help the transportation industry crack down on the trade ofĀ illegal wildlife products.
Qatar Airways is one of 40 global companies that signed a declarationĀ in the UK this week promisingĀ to work harder toĀ stop the saleĀ of illegal items such as rhinoĀ horn and ivory.
The agreement ā the Buckingham Palace DeclarationĀ ā was spearheaded by United for Wildlife, a charity foundedĀ by British royals the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
Qatar Airways is a member of the charity’s Transport Taskforce, which was formed to encourage transportation companies to work together to stop the illegal wildlife trade.
Nine other airlines are also partĀ of that taskforce, including fellow Gulf airlines Emirates and Etihad.
Pledges
The new agreement contains 11 commitments to try to shut down worldwide trafficking routes.Ā These include:
- Establishing secure systems for sharing information about high risk routes and methods of transport;
- Improving the way information is passedĀ from the transport sector to relevant customs and law enforcement authorities;
- Refusing to accept or ship illegal cargoes; and
- Contacting theĀ relevant law enforcement authorities quickly so that traffickers can be found and arrested.
The agreement also encourages companies in wealthy countries to assistĀ those in poorer nations by sharing expertise.

In remarks madeĀ after the signing, CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker said the airline was “extremely proud” to be part of the initiative:
āAs one of the worldās leading airlines, serving customers across six continents, we acknowledge our responsibility to society, to the community and to the environment; therefore we have a strict policy governing the types of animals and animal products that are banned for carriage on board Qatar Airways.ā
Ban on hunting trophies
The airline’s policy on the carrying of hunting trophies changedĀ last August after a worldwide outcry over the shooting dead ofĀ Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe by an American trophy hunter.
In response, Qatar Airways announced that it would refuseĀ to carry all hunting trophies on its aircraft.
The airlineĀ already had a ban in place on transporting the bodies of animals threatened with extinction.
But it then expanded its ban to include all animals listed underĀ the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES.)
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