Rapidly growing human populations risk having a "terrible impact" on the world, the Duke of Cambridge has warned.

The Duke said that as a result, wildlife was being put under "enormous pressure" and called for the issue to be addressed with renewed vigour.

His concerns echo those of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who in 2011 advocated “voluntary family limitation" as a means of solving overpopulation, which he described as the biggest challenge in conservation.

His grandson, royal patron of the Tusk Trust, told the charity’s gala dinner in London that measures needed to be taken to save certain animal populations.

“In my lifetime, we have seen global wildlife populations decline by over half,” he said.