willPrince William is calling for the destruction of all ivory in the royal collection at Buckingham Palace, the Guardian reports. This comes days after he attended the largest conference ever held on the subject of illegal wildlife trade.
Primatologist Jane Goodall told The Independent that when she spoke to Prince William and he said that he would “like to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed.”
The royal collection at Buckingham Palace contains about 1,200 pieces dating back hundreds of years. It includes furniture such as an ivory throne that belonged to Queen Victoria. Some art enthusiasts oppose the destruction of these artifacts, but conservationists support the idea.
“It would be a demonstration of them putting their money where their mouth is. It would be extremely significant and visual, and might help Britons hand in their ivory, illegal or legal,” said conservationist Dr. Paula Kahumbu.
Prince William is not alone in his stance against illegal ivory. His father, Prince Charles, has asked to have items of ivory removed from his sight at his homes, Clarence House and Highgrove.
“It’s difficult to imagine a stronger symbol of the horrors of ivory than Buckingham Palace publicly destroying its own. Good for Prince William for pushing this,” said Member of Parliament Zac Goldsmith.
A spokesman for Prince William refused to confirm or deny any private comments attributed to the prince.