Carnival Corporation Joins U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance to Combat Illegal Wildlife Products

Carnival Corporation & plc announced it is among the newest corporate partners of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance, a coalition of non-profit organizations, companies, foundations and media interests that work closely with the U.S. government in a collaboration to reduce the purchase and sale of illegal wildlife products in the United States. The commitment was made official last week at a public forum in Washington, D.C. at the National Geographic Society's Grosvenor Auditorium, following a White House event on the issue.

Carnival Corporation's partnership includes providing education, awareness and training for its 120,000 worldwide employees on the identification of illegal wildlife products and the harm created by this trade. It also includes providing awareness of wildlife crime to its 11 million cruise guests across its 10 global brands, and the development of programs to communicate with vendors and suppliers about the dangers of illegal wildlife trafficking.

The U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance partnership is the latest chapter in a series of ongoing initiatives by Carnival Corporation built around the company's commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Carnival Corporation recently pledged $2.5 million to The Nature Conservancy and hosted leading conservation, science and sustainability organizations at its headquarters for the Mapping Ocean Wealth annual forum.

The global cruise company is also introducing the industry's first ships to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – the world's cleanest burning fossil fuel, representing a major environmental breakthrough that will eliminate emissions of soot particles and sulfur oxides. The initiative is part of the company's stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 % from the 2005 baseline before the end of 2020.

According to recent estimates from the U.S. Department of State, wildlife trafficking also generates approximately $10 billion per year in illegal profits for criminal syndicates that are masterminding the killing, transport and marketing of illegal wildlife products. Additionally, wildlife trafficking has contributed to nearly 50 % of the entire African lion population being decimated over the past three decades and approximately 100,000 elephants killed for their ivory in a three-year period.