8 November 2021

BORN FREE HOSTS KEY DEBATE AT COP26

Born Free’s ‘State of the Earth’ Question Time panel is a sell-out success at the COP26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow.

Over 400 people from Britain and around the world attended the Born Free hosted ‘State of the Earth’ Question Time at the COP26 Climate Change Summit in Glasgow on Sunday 7 November. Organised in conjunction with Cabinet Office and live-streamed to a large global audience, the sold-out Question Time event was chaired by Born Free’s Policy Advisor Dominic Dyer. 

The panel brought together leading figures in the environment, wildlife protection, animal welfare and business sectors to discuss the importance of the climate emergency and its impact on the natural world. The event was opened with a passionate and moving video message from charity Co-Founder Virginia McKenna OBE on the history and work of the Born Free Foundation. 

From Born Free’s Executive President Will Travers OBE and Dragon’s Den’s Deborah Meaden, to Nowzad CEO Pen Farthing and Born Free Youth Ambassador and campaigner Bella Lack, the panel engaged with the audience on a wide range of critical issues ranging from slaughter of whales and dolphins in the Faroe Islands and the environmental impact of grouse shooting in the Scottish highlands, to benefits of rewilding and moving to a plant based diet. 

Speaking after the event the panel chair Dominic Dyer said, “I would like to thank Born Free and the Cabinet Office for hosting the State of the Earth Question Time at COP26, which will be one of the highlights of this hugely important global summit. The climate emergency is not just a crisis for the future of humanity, it also endangers the very future of the natural and animal life on this planet.

“This is why we must end the exploitation and destruction of the natural world and usher in a new era where wildlife and people can live in harmony and thrive together.”

“The event was superb, with a great panel and a wide range of issues covered,” said Born Free special supporter Donna Mackenzie who attended the discussion. “Lovely to see Virginia on film, expertly chaired by Dominic and so thought provoking to have the views of the panel coming to the issues from different age ranges and angles.”

You can view the event at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjZxe-S07dM

Image © D Mackenzie