Alex Hofford, campaign manager for WildAid, discusses its campaigns against ivory, shark fin and more
In 2015, a group of NGOs and wildlife experts joined forces to establish the Hong Kong Wildlife Trade Working Group and together fight the illegal trafficking of wildlife and animal products through Hong Kong. We met six members of the group, including Alex Hofford, campaign manager for WildAid, to learn more about the criminal trade and how it can be stopped. Here, Hofford discusses WildAid's campaigns against ivory, shark fin and more
How did you get involved in fighting wildlife crime?
When I first arrived in Hong Kong, my background was in photojournalism. I was living in Sheung Wan, which is the heart of the wildlife trade in Hong Kong—the dried seafood street, all those areas around Bonham Strand—so when I’d go on assignments, I’d leave my home and I’d see shark fins laid out to dry and I’d see bags and bags and bags of it in the stores.
It got me thinking: what’s going on here? This seems out of control. There didn’t seem to be many people tackling the issue, so I started taking a few pictures and building up an archive of photographs of shark fin in that area, then I got to documenting the entire supply chain, from the ocean all the way through the cutting process and all the brutal stuff, through to the markets and trafficking and the consumer end in Hong Kong.
One thing led to another and my work was recognized by an international group, WildAid, so I’ve been working with them since about 2014.