The Environmental News Service reports a disturbing and retrograde vote yesterday at the UN in Geneva to allow China to become a licensed buyer of ivory in a one-time sale of 108 metric tons of government owned ivory remains. China has a large market in ivory even after the CITIES (Convention on Trade in Endangered Species) ban prohibiting the trade in 1989. Many experts think that Chinese lacks comprehensive internal trade controls to identify and suppress ivory taken illegally. According to the WWF, "large quantities of African ivory are still finding their way in to illegal markets in Africa and beyond in places such as Asia". The UK supported China in its application on behalf of the EU along with Bulgaria. The wildlife minister defended her vote by saying the measure would allow China to purchase ivory only from legal stockpiles in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. South Africa recently resumed killing elephants as a method of population control. Legal sales of ivory derive from elephants that have died as a result of natural causes or authorized animal control. Wildlife activists deplored the naive justification saying the profit pressure from China's continued lust for ivory will almost certainly lead to an increase in poaching. Thousands of African elephants are poached each year. One wildlife defender on the scene quipped, "approving China [as a trading partner] is like pouring petrol on a fire". You can read a current CITIES report on the status of trade in elephant remains here.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Death To Elephants
The Environmental News Service reports a disturbing and retrograde vote yesterday at the UN in Geneva to allow China to become a licensed buyer of ivory in a one-time sale of 108 metric tons of government owned ivory remains. China has a large market in ivory even after the CITIES (Convention on Trade in Endangered Species) ban prohibiting the trade in 1989. Many experts think that Chinese lacks comprehensive internal trade controls to identify and suppress ivory taken illegally. According to the WWF, "large quantities of African ivory are still finding their way in to illegal markets in Africa and beyond in places such as Asia". The UK supported China in its application on behalf of the EU along with Bulgaria. The wildlife minister defended her vote by saying the measure would allow China to purchase ivory only from legal stockpiles in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. South Africa recently resumed killing elephants as a method of population control. Legal sales of ivory derive from elephants that have died as a result of natural causes or authorized animal control. Wildlife activists deplored the naive justification saying the profit pressure from China's continued lust for ivory will almost certainly lead to an increase in poaching. Thousands of African elephants are poached each year. One wildlife defender on the scene quipped, "approving China [as a trading partner] is like pouring petrol on a fire". You can read a current CITIES report on the status of trade in elephant remains here.