I UNDERSTAND that Prince William has indicated that he would like all the ivory in the royal collection removed and destroyed as part of transforming the debate on the killing of elephants for their tusks.

I applaud him for this and his support for efforts to end the illegal trade in wild animals.

As an artist myself, I understand the value of art and the effort that goes into producing works of art, but the threat to the fauna of our planet is such that we must act, or face the greatest wave of extinctions in history.

What is the better legacy for our age: a world that still contains tigers, elephants, sharks, rhinos, seahorses, coral reefs and all the other species under threat, or private and public art collections of wild animals’ body parts turned into trinkets and baubles? I think the answer is obvious.

The trade in wild animals and their body parts should be consigned to history. It would show real leadership for the royal family to put the protection of our planet’s biodiversity above the retention of objects that contribute to the acceptability of this trade.

Christian Vassie, Blake Court, Wheldrake, York.