By Peter Milton

One of the guiding principles by which SPOTS has always operated, is that our conservation efforts should always reflect our belief that the wildlife of our world does not belong to any one country or nation. The species that we fight to conserve and protect in fact belong to all the people of the world.

Many times, we are left disappointed by the the seeming lack of interest in and commitment to conservation displayed by the world at large and foreign governments in particular.

Recently, we were heartened by a delivery given by U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton - a delivery which stated a commitment by the government of the United States, to action conservation issues and the illegal trade in wildlife.

SPOTS management have met with US Embassy staff here in South Africa in order to discuss various conservation issues and how we can work together on the many challenges that we face....the rhino problem in particular.

We are also pleased to have been invited, with certain others, to meet with visiting US diplomatic staff later this week in order to further these discussions. We will provide updates on those discussions, but we would at this time wish to extend our sincere appreciation to the US Embassy here in South Africa and the government of the United States for showing the support and commitment that we so urgently need.