These are very difficult times for all of us in many parts of the world, as the outburst of COVID-19 has disrupted life as we know it. Right now, the priority is to save lives. Tackling the coronavirus pandemic requires that all of us, individually but also collectively, adhere very strictly to the measures that authorities have put in place to contain the spread and avoid additional stress on our public health systems and the medical, emergency and supporting staff.
Following guidelines from Dutch authorities, we at the Wildlife Justice Commission have implemented a series of measures to protect our staff and contribute to the protection of others. All of our Hague-based staff is working from home since 16 March and will continue to do so for the time being. All in-person meetings have been moved online and we have also limited the travel of our staff.
Our intelligence, policy and communication staff are working at full capacity and our investigation activities are continuing in modified terms. This is necessary because, despite this global emergency, the trafficking of endangered wildlife has not stopped, with transnational organised criminal networks continuing to drive species to extinction and threaten global security and public health. Now more than ever the devastation caused by wildlife crime has become apparent.
We are all available in case you need us. If you would like to contact us, please email us at info@wildlifejustice.org or call our switchboard at +31 70 205 10 50. Media enquires sent to media@wildlifejustice.org will be swiftly responded to. You can also reach us via our social media channels at Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
We will continue to keep you informed about our work and developments. We send you lots of support and encourage you to please stay safe and #StayHome.
Everyone of us is essential to #FlattenTheCurve.
Olivia Swaak-Goldman
WJC Executive Director.
If you can, please support our work contributing to law enforcement efforts globally to stop the trafficking of wildlife. Thank you!