Behind the Collection

Many sharks are accidentally caught in fishing gear, as well as caught deliberately for their fins — a delicacy in parts of Asia. Fins from up to 73 million sharks are used in shark fin soup every year. Shark’s habitats also in danger due to climate change. Around 50% of the world's coral reefs have been lost and the rest could disappear if we don’t take action soon. 

Although rhino horn has been banned for 25 years as a traditional medicine in China, consumption has surged. Habitat loss and fragmentation are an increasing threat to rhinos, as human populations and infrastructure grows, encroaching on rhino habitat. In the past 40 years, the world has lost 95% of its rhinos. Over 7,100 African rhinos have been killed by poaching in the last 10 years – that’s around 2 every day.

Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammal in the world. In China and Vietnam, pangolins are highly prized by consumers for their meat and their unique scales.  Over the past decade, over a million pangolins have been illegally taken from the wild. Up to 200,000 are estimated to be taken from the wild every year across Africa and Asia. 

Lions face many threats, but their main enemies are preemptive killing to protect people and livestock, as well as decreasing natural prey and habitat loss. Climate change is also an increasing threat, as global warming has increased drought, which directly affects food supply. Over the last 50 years, the number of wild lions across Africa has fallen from 200,000 to an estimated 20,000. They have disappeared from over 90% of their historical range.