VARIOUS: Controversy dogs international sales of elephant ivory as Namibian stockpiles go under the hammer

Record ID: 182036

  • Title: VARIOUS: Controversy dogs international sales of elephant ivory as Namibian stockpiles go under the hammer
  • Date: 29th October 2008
  • Summary: (W3) VLAKPLAAS, SOUTH AFRICA (FILE) (REUTERS) CLOSE VIEW OF IVORY BLOCKS (W3) HARTEBEEST ZOO, SOUTH AFRICA (FILE) (REUTERS) TUSKS ON A SHELF IVORY BLOCKS INSIDE A SUITCASE TUSKS ON SHELVES
  • Embargoed: 13th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations,Nature / Environment
  • Reuters ID: LVA3AFPWNLPXPW5QME6FIT2EVKWM
  • Story Text: An intentional animal welfare group on Tuesday (October 28) condemned the start of sales of stockpiled ivory by four southern African countries.
    The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has long opposed the sales, as have many African nations, who say the sales will lead to renewed poaching in countries poorly equipped to combat poachers.

    "IFAW believes this is a disastrous decision for elephants. In fact the creation of a legal market for ivory only encourages an illegal market for ivory so the sale of these stockpiles is really sending a very bad message to the poachers and those people who deal in illegal ivory that it's open season on laundering their illegally-gained ivory," Christina Pretorius, an IFAW representative in Cape Town said of the sales which began out of sight of cameras in Namibia on Tuesday.
    A meeting of CITES, the UN-backed Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species agreed the sales earlier in 2008, after intense lobbying from African countries wanting to use their stockpiles to fund conservation projects.
    IFAW said it would be the first time in nearly 10 years that international trade in elephant ivory has been sanctioned by CITES.
    Namibia is putting nine tonnes of elephant ivory up for auction and sales will continue over the next two weeks in Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa, with a total of 108 tonnes of ivory up for sale.

    "The stockpiles have been agreed that they will be sold to China and to Japan and that decision was taken by the Convention of the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) in the middle of 2008. The sales are going to take place in the coming two weeks and it's starting today in Namibia where they will be selling nine tonnes of ivory and the sales will be sold to individual pre-approved buyers by CITIES, buyers from China and Japan," added Pretorius.
    Botswana will auction 44 tonnes, Zimbabwe four tonnes, and South Africa will sell 51 tonnes of stockpiled ivory in a once-off sale to China and Japan. Most of the ivory was obtained from culling, mortalities and breakages.
    Culling is a controversial means of controlling elephant populations.
    Some 45 percent of the ivory was obtained before 1994, from culling in the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Culling was halted due to a public outcry against the practice but earlier this year the South African government lifted the ban. Culling has not yet recommenced, however.
    Both China and Japan have been approved as trading partners for this ivory although they are known to be among the world's largest illegal ivory markets.
    The Namibian sales are going ahead in near secrecy and some conservationists worry the lack of transparency may mean the money from the sales does not go where governments have said it would.

    "Well there's been no indication whatsoever that any of these southern African countries would be keen to destroy those ivory stockpiles.
    Condition of the sale is that the money has got to be ploughed back into community upliftment and elephant management. We're extremely doubtful that that will be the case and think it's highly unlikely that that will happen however which way they argue it," said Pretorious in a interview with Reuters.
    A year ago, a suspension of at least nine years on international elephant ivory trade was approved at the 14th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties. This trade ban is set to come back into effect after the stockpiles sales are completed.
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