Operation Charm
is a partnership between the Metropolitan Police, the Greater
London Authority, the Active Conservation Awareness Programme
(ACAP), Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Fund
for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
(DSWF). It is a joint initiative to combat the illegal trade in
endangered species in London and works through a combination of
law enforcement and public awareness campaigns to educate consumers
and traders to prevent crime.
Originally launched by the Metropolitan
Police in 1995, Operation Charm has seized over 30,000 items made
from endangered species which were on sale illegally in London.
In 1996, the world's largest ever seizure of rhino horn was made
here in our capital city. Recently 146 shatoosh shawls, made from
the undercoat of the critically endangered chiru antelope were
discovered in a single London boutique. In October this year,
shaving brushes and other objects made from elephant ivory were
seized from a top London barber's shop.
Operation Charm is now being relaunched,
in conjunction with the new partners, and will focus, amongst
other things, on traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) in London,
of which there has been a huge increase in recent years, reflecting
a growth in consumer demand for alternative medicine remedies.
Most traditional Chinese medicines do not contain products from
endangered species, either plant or animal. However, some are
known to include products from tigers, rhinos, bears, elephants,
leopards, pangolin and many other species facing extinction in
the wild. The commercial trade in such wildlife body parts is
controlled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES) which makes it illegal to buy or sell any item
containing products from plants or animals on the Appendix A list
of critically endangered species.
However,
the illegal trade in endangered species is huge and continues
to grow annually, making the anti-poaching, undercover enforcement
and education work that is the core of DSWF-funded projects
ever more vital. DSWF has been a supporter of the Active Conservation
Awareness Programme since 1996, fighting against the consumer
end of the illegal markets in wildlife in both China and India.
DSWF was one of the first NGOs to
support the Lusaka Agreement Task Force, supporting the
fight against wildlife crime and smuggling across international
borders in Africa.
DSWF regularly sends an expert to CITES meetings, fighting
to ensure that enforcement and compliance of the CITES regulations
are given priority.
Operation
Charm has four flagship species, the tiger, rhino, bear
and saiga antelope. DSWF is actively involved in protection
work for three of these species, including tiger conservation
in India, Siberia and Cambodia, rhino projects in India,
Namibia and South Africa, and support for the work of the
Animals Asia Foundation, fighting to end the barbaric practice
of bear farming in China.
For further information about these
projects, please click
here ...
The Operation Charm strapline
"Dying for a Cure" epitomises the evil against
which DSWF is fighting.
DSWF is therefore very proud to be part of the Operation
Charm partnership and will continue to fight, even in our
own backyard, the ignorance and greed, that is fueling the
trade in many of the world's most endangered species.
Major
success for DSWF-supported Operation Charm
A 53 year old South East London man was fined a total of
£5,400 at Greenwich Magistrates Court on 15th December
for offering for sale specimens of endangered species. For
full details of this story and DSWF's support of Operation
Charm's vital work in clamping down on the illegal trade
in wildlife body parts in London.
In
July 2006, the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit,
as part of Operation Charm, executed a search warrant at
a Traditional Chinese Medicine outlet in Deptford, South
East London, where a number of products were seized. A further
search was conducted at an outlet in Eltham and products
seized and the shop owner arrested.
Mr Shunwei Ma, the owner of the Traditional Chinese Medicine
outlets, pleaded guilty to 18 charges under the Control
of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations
1997 and was fined £300 on each. The offences related
to products claiming ingredients derived from protected
species including bear, seahorse, saiga antelope, musk deer
and rare species of orchid and tree fern.
Mr John Elliott prosecuting told the court that the continued
unlawful trade in these products has a serious effect on
bio-diversity.
To find out more about the work of
Operation Charm, please click
here ...
To donate to the work of Operation
Charm, please click
here ...
However,
the illegal trade in endangered species is huge and continues
to grow annually, making the anti-poaching, undercover enforcement
and education work that is the core of DSWF-funded projects
ever more vital. DSWF has been a supporter of the Active Conservation
Awareness Programme since 1996, fighting against the consumer
end of the illegal markets in wildlife in both China and India.
Operation
Charm has four flagship species, the tiger, rhino, bear
and saiga antelope. DSWF is actively involved in protection
work for three of these species, including tiger conservation
in India, Siberia and Cambodia, rhino projects in India,
Namibia and South Africa, and support for the work of the
Animals Asia Foundation, fighting to end the barbaric practice
of bear farming in China. 
In
July 2006, the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit,
as part of Operation Charm, executed a search warrant at
a Traditional Chinese Medicine outlet in Deptford, South
East London, where a number of products were seized. A further
search was conducted at an outlet in Eltham and products
seized and the shop owner arrested.