In a commendable move that should serve as an example to airlines everywhere, Cargolux announced yesterday that it has decided to place a ban on the transport of lion bones.
The Luxembourg-based air carrier, which maintains a global network that makes it one of the largest scheduled all-cargo airlines in Europe, took this important stance against wildlife trafficking that will hopefully encourage other cargo airlines to do the same.
They are the first major cargo carrier to ban shipments of lion bones. They announced the ban in an attempt to raise awareness within the industry and promote ethical operations.
“Cargolux is strongly committed to conservation and animal welfare, a cause that the company increasingly engages in whenever possible. Once we became aware of the emergence of this trade, the decision was immediately taken to ban the transport of such cargo throughout our network,” Richard Forson, Cargolux President and CEO said in a statement. “It is highly important that all players in the transport industry recognize their responsibility towards wildlife trafficking and take all applicable measures to eliminate this trade.”
As noted by the company, tragically, trafficking has been growing over the past decade and is closely linked to both poaching and lion breeding for trophy hunts, practices that do not align with Cargolux’s position on wildlife conservation.
Further, the compassionate company also notes on its website, that “While most organizations are coming to understand and respect the need for environmental and socially responsible measures, we need more than respect. We need deep and abiding accountability.”
“This positive decision will go some way in disrupting this abhorrent and cruel trade. It also sets a great example to all of the other Cargo Airlines to make more ethical decisions when it comes to the international wildlife trade,” stated Michele Pickover, Director of the EMS Foundation, who expressed the organization’s sincere gratitude to Cargolux. “Many airlines may be unaware of the trade itself or its implications for both African Lions and Asian Tigers. I believe that once they are informed about what this trade entails, they will also make the correct and logical decision not to support it.”
We thank Cargolux for refusing to carry lion bone and other lion body parts in a growing list of items that Cargolux, a signatory of the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products, takes a firm stance on for ethical reasons.
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