The Duke of Cambridge as Patron of the Tusk Trust ended his four-day tour of China with a call for environmental protection and an end to animal abuses, particularly elephant poaching.

However, his visit ended on an awkward situation when he visited an elephant sanctuary where elephants were made to entertain tourists in a show.

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Prince William earlier met with President Xi Jinping to discuss the historic decision to ban ivory imports to China for one year. 

At present, there is no ban on ivory trade in the country, thus, the black market continues to thrive.

For his last stop, the Duke of Cambridge visited the Xishuangbanna Elephant Sanctuary in Yunnan Province, where 250 elephants are being kept.

 In said sanctuary, an awkward situation arose because at the same moment the Prince was being photographed with an elephant, a number of them have their legs shackled and about to perform for a show for tourists.

When asked if he knew what was going on at the nearby theme park, Prince William reportedly did not answer. 

Observers said the Duke could be reluctant to be critical of his host country after a successful tour and he wants to focus on this.

On the last day of his visit to China, Prince William condemned the illegal wildlife trade, calling it a "vicious form of criminality" that "erodes the rule of law, fuels conflict and may even fund terrorism."

"The greatest threat to elephants worldwide today is not local farmers protecting their livelihoods, it is ruthless and organized poaching and trafficking," said Prince William, who is the president of the United for Wildlife organization.

He added that the extinction of the elephants would be "an immeasurable loss to humanity."

TagsPrince William, Elephant Rights, Prince William in China