Britain's Prince William made an impassioned plea to save endangered species from poachers last night (12.02.14).
The 31-year-old royal, who is campaigning with his father, Prince Charles, addressed more than 400 delegates at a reception at London's Natural History Museum and spoke about his strategies to rid the world of the illegal trade.
According to the Daily Express newspaper, he said: "Tonight we are here with a single, shared purpose - to use our collective influence to put a stop to the illegal killing and trafficking of some of our world's most iconic and endangered species.
"Never before has a group like this come together - in these numbers - to stop the illegal trade in wildlife. All of us in this room have a duty to make sure that tomorrow, February 13, is a date that marks the beginning of the end of this despicable trade."
He paid tribute to his father and grandfather, Prince Philip, who have both campaigned on the issue for years, despite Philip shooting a tiger and posing for a photograph with Queen Elizabeth in 1961, before it was made illegal.
He also failed to mention a hunting trip he went on with his brother, Prince Harry, in Spain this month, which has been described by critics as being "ill-timed."
William said: "We are, as a family, so honoured to be part of this movement. We will stay the course with you until you succeed.
"Let's turn tonight's goodwill into action, and, please, let's be part of the movement that can tell our children and grandchildren that we saved these extraordinary species for them."
The prince also attended a conference with his father and brother at Lancaster House in London this morning to discuss the illegal wildlife trade.

Britain's Prince William appears in a video with David Beckham urging people not to support the trade in rhino horn.
The 31-year-old royal and the retired soccer star are seen alongside former NBA basketball player, Yao Ming, in the WildAid message to protect rhinos, sharks and elephants for future generations.
The trio filmed the video in London in September 2013, which has been posted on YouTube today (13.02.14), and shows them dressed in suits walking out onto a pitch in a football stadium full of rhinos.
David says: "Imagine if all the people in the world could fit into one stadium", with William adding, "Sadly, all the wild rhinos in the world can, with room to spare. For some species, it's almost too late."
Appealing to viewers, Yao then says: "But we can fill this stadium and many more, if we can stop the illegal trade."
David adds: "Ask your friends and family never to buy rhino horn."
The film is part of WildAid's demand reduction campaign and the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife Collaboration.
William also teamed up with David and Yao to appeal to Chinese parents to save wild animals in a video message in December.
In a separate video, actor Jackie Chan warns viewers that buying rhino horn supports the dark side of the trade.
He says: "You're paying for guns, bullets, poisoned arrows, chainsaws, axes, and machetes to hack off the face of the rhino. And you are paying for the life of a beautiful creature."
This month, William is campaigning with his father, Prince Charles, against the illegal wildlife trade and has spoken at a number of events in London.

U2 have no desire to become a "heritage act".
The Irish rockers, who will take to the stage at the Oscars next month to perform their track 'Ordinary Love', which is nominated for Best Original Song, say they don't want to grow old gracefully and have no plans to retire.
Guitarist The Edge told The Hollywood Reporter: "We don't want to ever be a heritage act.
"It might happen, but we'll go kicking and screaming into that mode. We feel the place for us to be is part of the conversation of contemporary culture and music and film and everything else, and we don't see the reason why we can't, because it's been possible for various artists in different forms.
"Frank Lloyd Wright, to the day he died, was designing the most incredible things - we want to be part of that rather than grow old gracefully."
The band - which also features Bono, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton - wrote their Oscar-nominated song especially for the 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' soundtrack and didn't think twice about signing up to do it.
Bassist Adam said: "This was the one project you just couldn't say no to. For our generation, South Africa was a real illustration of how music could affect change in the world, and it was a rite of passage in terms of our political awareness."
Frontman Bono isn't getting his hopes up ahead of the Academy Awards but said "if the song gets to shake the hand of the little gopher ... it would give a whole other imprimatur to our audience, which would be great", adding, "I would love if it had a life outside of the film. Because we poured so much of our life into the song and, I hope, his life, the life of Mandela."
The 'Vertigo' hitmakers are also set to release their new album this year but don't want to rush to finish it.
Bono explained: "The album won't be ready till it's ready. There's a couple of songs that are part of the story we haven't quite finished. We know we have to spend a couple of years taking these songs around the world, so they'd better be good."

Dakota Johnson insists her 'Fifty Shades of Grey' character is "kind of boring".
The 24-year-old actress is currently filming the big screen adaptation of E.L. James' erotic novel and despite the raunchy subject matter, she thinks her character Anastasia Steele - who gets entangled in an S&M relationship with kinky businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) is quite dull.
She said: "A lot of getting into the character's head, in Ana's headspace before she meets Christian, so it's a lot of reading, which I love. She's an English major, so that's kinda boring."
Dakota - the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith - admits she had some "fears" about working on the movie, but is enjoying the experience very much.
Speaking to the March edition of Vanity Fair magazine, she said: "It's been a very smooth and fun and creative experience. I think going into something like this, you kind of have fears of what it could be like and none of those fears are happening. We all get along really well and the crew's amazing. We're just all trying to make this project the best it can be."

Boy George can relate to Justin Bieber.
The 52-year-old singer can understand why the 'Believe' hitmaker - whose recent antics have included being arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest, allegedly being abusive to flight staff who asked him to stop smoking marijuana and being investigated over an egg attack on a neighbour's house - has apparently gone off the rails because he is in a position where he doesn't feel he has to listen to anyone.
George - who has previously battled drug addiction but has been sober for six years - said: "I can definitely identify with it completely and I can also identify with the fact that if you said anything to him, he'd laugh at you. Because I would have.
"If you said to me [at the height of my fame], 'You know what? You're messing this up.' I wouldn't have listened because you don't listen when you're that age... you don't and that's a shame because I could've saved myself a lot of drama. A lot of money as well."
However, George thinks things are worse for today's young stars because of the rise in social media and is grateful he didn't have to grow up in the digital age.
He added in an interview with 'Access Hollywood': "I am really grateful that I kind of did a lot of growing up out of the spotlight because there [are] enough things on the internet that I hate.
"There are enough ugly pictures of me out there, so having anymore would be really depressing."

Mariah Carey has slammed Nicki Minaj.
The 43-year-old singer - who repeatedly clashed with the 'Starships' hitmaker when they were both judges on 'American Idol' last year - insisted she wants to press "delete" on her time on the show and claimed she can't even remember her fellow panelist.
Asked about the programme on Power 105.1's 'Breakfast Club' radio show, she said: "I was a professional on that show, and that's all I have to say. I was a complete professional."
When one of the hosts said: "Nicki was late though", Mariah replied "Who?"
She added: "I don't even remember what that was. That was a moment in my life that I'm just going to press delete."
The 'You're Mine (Eternal)' singer - who has twins Moroccan and Monroe, two, with husband Nick Cannon - previously admitted she "hated" being on 'American Idol', suggesting Nicki was the reason she had such a bad time on the show.
She has said: "Honestly, I hated it. Here's what it was. I was the first person who signed on...I thought it was going to be a three-person panel. They gave me a nice...monetary moment, and I was just like, 'OK, Randy Jackson will be there; I've known him forever. He used to play bass for me. Like, this isn't a big deal. This will be nothing.'
"But it wasn't that. It was like going to work every day in hell with Satan."

Abbie Cornish wants to be a rapper.
The 'RoboCop' actress is determined to pursue a career in hip-hop and has admitted she's currently recording an album, which she is hoping to release later this year.
She told E! News: "I'm half-way through it [the album]. I go back into the studio at the end of February. It should be finished soon. It should be released toward the end of the year."
The 31-year-old star takes inspiration from Eminem, but insists her music taste is varied.
She explained: "My favourite rapper is Eminem. But my music collection goes from classical to jazz to blues. My favourite era is the sixties and seventies. I have a very eclectic taste in music."
However, the blonde beauty insists her studio collection won't contain lots of covers because she prefers to write her own tracks and she's also lined up some collaborations.
She said: "I compose and write. I'm working with a lot of producers and musicians."
Abbie may not be part of the soundtrack for her new flick 'RoboCop', but she admits she immediately signed up to the role of cyborg cop Alex Murphy's wife Clara and is glad she accepted the part.
She said: "I've done a lot of art house and a lot of indies, but I loved this. It's the most fun I've had making a movie."

Bono plans for U2's albums to be "interactive".
The 'One' rocker is concerned about the decline in record sales over the years but thinks the key to revitalising the format is to make artwork important again by embracing technology to give listeners a more complete experience.
Discussing how to boost record sales, he said: "It's album artwork. Not videos, because videos demand your attention. You need to think it's supposed to be on in the background when you listen to the music - a much more ambient experience. People could watch while listening - the way we used to when you'd open up, say, The Clash's 'Sandinista!' and get lost in the lyrics. 'Where are they? Where's Nicaragua?'
"This format is coming - the relaunching of album artwork. A plasma screen, poof! Your phone, boom! While you're listening. Because music used to be an immersive medium, not just sonically, it was always the visuals, too.
"Elvis is an audiovisual phenomenon. The Beatles were audiovisual. It's harder and harder to get people to pay for an MP3 file, but it will be easier when you're getting something much more interactive."
However, it may take some time for Bono's ideas to come to fruition as the band admit they are "slow learners".
Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter: "We've always needed collaborators to challenge us. We're slow learners. We need to be creative, on the cutting edge, challenged, and it's really hard going, it's relentless, and we're relentless, and we have a history of breaking engineers, producers.
"I mean, people come out of working with U2 and just go, 'I just don't know what's happened; it feels like a lifetime has passed by.' And that's just the way we work."

Tim Healy demanded new boobs for his 'Benidorm' character.
The actor portrays transvestite Lesley in the hit ITV comedy and he is enjoying the role even more this year now his "plastic balls" and "rubber" bra have been replaced by a set of fake breasts.
He said: "These boobs are much better than last year where I had to wear plastic balls.
"This one is a proper bra so it's a bit more comfortable. The other ones were rubber and sweaty and horrible."
The 62-year-old actor also admitted some other aspects of his costume are not very comfortable.
He told The Sun newspaper: "The wigs get hot when I'm filming on my rollerblades around the pool.
"I hate these nails because I like playing my guitar. They're too long and they catch the strings."
However, despite his discomfort, Tim adores the show and has no plans to leave.
He said: "I will come back as long as they want me. I love it.
"It's a great job and I love 'Benidorm', you can be whoever you want to be.
"You get a complete mixture of people, older people on scooters, young people partying... it's good fun.
"I hope it lasts for ever."
The final episode in the current series of 'Benidorm' airs tonight (13.02.14) on ITV at 9pm.

Charlotte Crosby has bruised her bum.
The 'Geordie Shore' star - who is prone to unfortunate accidents including wetting herself during booze-filled benders - has suffered a nasty mishap while travelling in India, sustaining a huge purple bruise on each buttock.
Charlotte shared a photo montage of her painful-looking injuries - which also include a gash on her elbow, a bandaged wrist and a scrape on her cheek - on Instagram.
She captioned the image: "I may be smiling but BELIEVE me I wasn't at the time! #Ouch #YesThatIsMyBum #Bruising #CantSitDown #SplitMyArmOpen #IndiaWhatHaveYouDoneToMe LOL."
This comes after she wrote on Twitter last Sunday (09.02.14): "Last day in India! And I have a bandaged up arm a massively bruised bum which is not good for this flight to Delhi #Ouch".
The party girl has been filming her new TLC TV show, thought to follow a similar format to 'An Idiot Abroad', which sees the ditzy brunette travel the globe to spend time with people from different cultures.
From Geishas to Inuits, Charlotte will immerse herself in their ways of life far away from the Newcastle party scene.
She previously commented: "When they told me about going to my first destination Japan, I screamed 'OMG!!!!!!! I CANT BELIEVE I'M GOING TO CHINA!!!!' The crew just put their head in their hands!"

Juliette Lewis has joined a new mystery TV drama.
The Oscar-nominated actress will star in ABC's new series 'Secrets and Lies' with Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Phillippe.
The murder mystery show - which is a remake of an Australian TV drama - will follow the death of a four-year-old boy, Tom Mullen, and Juliette is set to play an intrepid police investigator tasked with finding his killer.
The 'August: Osage County' star's character Andrea Cornell will suspect Ryan's alter-ego Ben, a loving father who is first to discover the boy's body.
Juliette's character is described as a formidable detective, who, according to The Hollywood Reporter, can be "hard to read" and is "often if not always the smartest person in the room".
The 40-year-old actress shot to fame with an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for 'Cape Fear' and played one of the lead roles in cult hit 'Natural Born Killers'.
Her most recent role is the family drama 'August: Osage County', which earned her co-stars Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep Oscar nominations.
Juliette is no stranger to TV roles as she recently starred in miniseries 'Wayward Pines' for US channel FOX and NBC's short-lived drama 'The Firm'.

David Walliams thinks Simon Cowell is trying to steal his comedy thunder on 'Britain's Got Talent'.
The camp comic - who sits on the judging panel with Simon, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden - has accused his fellow judge and the show's creator of trying outdo him with jokes and one-liners of his own.
And David believes Simon's recent personality change stems from his impending fatherhood.
David said: "Simon's got really cocky because he's impregnated a woman. I don't know if you've heard about it -- it's been quite a low-key story.
"He is making jokes the whole time and it's becoming very annoying. He's not funny ... he's funny peculiar, maybe.
"If I make a joke, he has to make one better. If I get on the stage, he has to get on the stage.
"He got up so a child could throw knives at him. But unfortunately, the child missed."
Fellow judge Amanda has also noticed the 54-year-old judge has become funnier this year, but she suspects Simon may have had some hired help.
She told The Sun newspaper: "Simon is being a bit funnier than David this year. I was thinking, 'Has he got a scriptwriter?' You can't normally top David."