PLANET HEIRTH
Prince’s emotional plea for the elephants... and planet’s future
PRINCE William becomes visibly upset as he is confronted by the scale of the threat to elephants and rhino in a documentary about the future of the planet’s wildlife.
The dad of three is seen at a heavily guarded ivory facility in Tanzania, where 43,000 elephant tusks with a street value of £50million have been impounded.
William, 38, says: “It’s a mind-blowing number of tusks, it really is. You can’t get your head around it.”
The prince, who has a lifelong passion for African wildlife, also shows his anguish over the rhino, facing extinction after being hunted for their horns which are used in some cultures for medicine.
He says: “People might see them and think it’s a big tank, a big hulk of an animal. They want this horn, which is effectively nail. That is all it is, fingernail.
“This is where the horn belongs – on a live rhino. That’s where it should stay.”
Filmmakers were given close access to the Duke of Cambridge for two years as he embarked on a global mission to mobilise action for the natural world.
In the film, he explains his belief that young people now hold the key to our relationship with the environment, saying how their determination to tackle climate change makes him optimistic.
William says in the ITV special: “The young are really getting it. The younger generation are wanting more and more people to do stuff and want more action.
“We’ve got to speed the pace. Someone has to put their head above the parapet and say, I care about this. To have the
HORRIFIED Prince is moved by 43,000 seized ivory tusks
COLD TRUTH Royal couple were shown melting glaciers belief that together we can make a difference.” He believes community action is vital – and hopes the way the pandemic changed how people see the natural world will be a vital spur.
Wills explains: “I can’t talk about coronavirus without mentioning how many people lost their lives and how terrible that all is. But the tiny little ray of light
– if there is any – is that it allows us to take stock, to refocus our priorities.
“I’ve been really heartened by how people have decided to experience things they never thought they would.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are also seen on a trip to Pakistan where they are shown the effects of global warming in the Hindu Kush mountains.
Told how glaciers melting at record speed could lead to a shortage of fresh water, Kate, 38, says: “Everyone’s asking us all to protect the environment – what comes first is actually to care about it.
“You’re not necessarily going to care if you don’t know about it, that’s why it was so important to come here.”
At an event in Birkenhead, Wills and the Duchess meet with veteran BBC broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, 94, who tells them: “Kids know an awful lot now about ecology and what’s happening with the world. It’s remarkable.”
The film also has lighter moments including youngsters in Liverpool telling William they have named their insect hotel Bugingham Palace – and asking him if he is able to do the floss dance.
Prince William: A Planet for Us All, ITV, Monday October 5, 9pm.
This is where the horn belongs – on a live rhino. That’s where it should stay
PRINCE WILLIAM ON THE THREAT FROM HUNTERS