Bonn, 17 September 2018 - UN Cinema screened the award-winning documentary “The Last Animals” with CMS, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Deutsche Welle as partners.

The German UN Association NRW-Chapter (DGVN NRW) and the United Nations Regional Information Center (UNRIC), invited an interested audience to the event. It was hosted by Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle on 13 September in Bonn, Germany.

Around 150 guests attended in the event, which was followed by a lively panel discussion which included Melanie Virtue, Head of Aquatic Species Team, as CMS representative.

In her documentary Kate Brooks follows up closely the work of conservationists, rangers, scientists and veterinarians to protect the world’s last animals. She uses a hidden camera to document the illegal trafficking and sale of ivory and horn in Africa and Asia.  

The film also documents efforts to save the Northern White Rhino from extinction and the merciless exploitation of threatened animals for their valuable body parts. The audience witnessed the massacre of elephants in Africa threatening the survival of the species.

In the discussion which followed, CMS and the IUCN Environmental Law Centre featured their work and efforts to address wildlife crime.

During the discussion, Melanie Virtue (CMS) emphasized that the current extinction crisis in Africa concerns us directly.

UN-Cinema is a Europe-wide initiative, launched in 2007 by the United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) in Brussels. Films on UN-relevant topics are screened, followed by podium discussions with invited guests, who have either contributed to the creation of the film or are experts in the subject covered in it.