Hon House Chairperson, I move without notice: That the House -
1) recognises World Wildlife Day, which 3 March 2015 marks, and the fact that this day is also the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);
2) acknowledges that illegal trade in wildlife undermines the rule of law, threatens national security, degrades ecosystems, and is a major obstacle to the efforts of rural communities and indigenous people striving to sustain and manage their natural resources;
3) further acknowledges that illegal trade in wildlife has become a sophisticated transnational form of crime, comparable to other pernicious examples, such as the trafficking of drugs, humans, counterfeit items and oil;
4) calls upon the government and the appropriate departments to tackle the issues of poaching wildlife, and the transportation and consumption of illegally traded wildlife, and in so doing to use the same sorts of enforcement tools, techniques and penalties as those used to combat other serious crimes, such as trafficking in drugs or persons, in order to bring these poachers to justice; and
5) applauds the efforts of the Department of Environmental Affairs as it chairs the Rhino Protection Programme, together with its various partners, and fulfils the vast mandate it was put together to serve.
Agreed to.