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You are here: Backpacker Resources > Travel Tips > Ethical Travel - Souvenir Alert Campaign

Ethical Travel - Souvenir Alert Campaign

You’re not just a traveller ‐ you’re a travelling consumer and as a consumer you control what, where and even if you buy. But your status as a traveller complicates things. It’s easy to feel secure about what you’re buying at home, but a change of scenery, language and culture can play havoc with your consumer confidence. A bad meal, a grim hostel or a second rate tour is one thing. Souvenirs however are pretty important. Buy one and you take a bit of your travel experience home. So we hit the shops, the markets and the street vendors to haggle for a deal. Yes you may have gotten away with a steal, but if you’ve bought illegal goods, you’ve also committed a crime. Souvenir shopping has never sounded so scary but it doesn’t have to be because this month, I’m going to give you some advice courtesy of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and their Souvenir Alert Campaign.

Souvenir Alert Campaign and CITES

Wildlife souvenirs are tempting and with that in mind the WWF has set up their Souvenir Alert Campaign. It’s a joint initiative between the UK’s Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the WWF, and the aim is to safeguard protected species against illegal trade. While the campaign is aimed at travellers returning to the UK, similar rules apply for anyone entering one of the 173 countries that have signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). CITES imposes strict controls on the international trade of at least 33,000 plant and animal species and as for our European friends, EU legislation also details what you can and can’t bring back with you.

An Eye For a Buy

Here’s what shouldn’t be on your shopping list. Everyone knows this one but let’s start with the obvious ‐ ivory. Yes some sales may be sanctioned globally but as far as you’re concerned ‐ it’s off limits. If you’re in the Caribbean then watch out for jewellery, sunglasses and hair combs made from endangered sea turtle shells. If you’re a fashionista know that jaguar, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah and tiger furs are also banned. Finally any traditional Asian medicine made from tiger, leopard, musk, rhino, bear and plants like the Sausserea costus orchid, gastrodia orchid or dendrobium orchid, are also illegal.

There area also a number of items which according to the WWF, can only be brought back into the UK with a permit. This applies to coral, Queen conch shells, some orchids and cacti, as well as all reptile skin products. Looking for a pet lion, tiger or bear? Well don’t even try it ‐ that is unless you have a permit to import live animals. Finally if you crave caviar ‐ 125g is all that you’re allowed to take back into the EU. When purchasing this look for a label detailing the origin and stock of the caviar. Don’t buy it if there’s no label because illegal trade is driving some species of sturgeon to extinction.

Buyer Beware

As travellers we do our best to support the community we’re in and we want as much of our purchase as possible, to stay in local hands. But we also want to protect our wildlife heritage for the future. It’s a tough situation, especially if what’s being sold locally is banned internationally. But think of it this way ‐ there are other ways to help so if you don’t know exactly what you’re purchasing, don’t feel pressured to buy something you suspect may be illegal ‐ no matter what the vendor says.

‐ Jackie Ready