We are shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Rory Young, a dedicated conservationist and head of Chengeta Wildlife (an ECF grantee), who was killed along with a Burkinabe soldier and two Spanish journalists in Burkina Faso on Monday. Rory and his colleagues were extremely brave and willing to work in places that other conservation organisations deemed too risky. Without his commitment, the iconic desert elephants of Mali would almost certainly have suffered much more from poaching during the jihadist uprising. He was excellent at training local law enforcement personnel and made sure that his trainees respected human rights. All our thoughts are with those killed in the attack and their families.
