Prince William rebuked for African wildlife comments

Prince William has been slammed for suggesting that population growth is endangering wildlife in Africa. Speaking at the Tusk conservation awards in London this week, William said increasing pressure on the continent's ‘wildlife and wild spaces as a result of human population’ was presenting a ‘huge challenge for conservationists, as it does the world over’. ‘But it is imperative that the natural world is protected not only for its contribution to our economies, jobs and livelihoods, but for the health, wellbeing and future of humanity,’ he said. A report on the News24 site notes that analyst Nadine Batchelor-Hunt noted that Africa's current population density is considerably lower than that of Asia and Europe. Other critics suggested the greater source of harm to the African continent was European hunters in the early 20th century. ‘By far the greatest losses of wildlife in Africa occurred in the early 1900s when Europeans arrived with guns and hunted across the continent. To blame African civilians is to totally misunderstand African history,’ noted Adam Armstrong. But Population Matters, a British charity that campaigns to reduce population growth and its effects on the environment, welcomed the royal’s remarks. ‘The prince rightly draws attention to human population as a key driver of wildlife loss globally but there's a wider context, with high consumption in rich, developed countries like the UK also driving habitat destruction as forests are cleared for crops to feed UK and European livestock,’ said charity director Robin Maynard.