Will Britain oppose the ivory sale?

Conservationists hope Britain will oppose the sale of stockpiled ivory from Tanzania and Zambia which could lead to further illegal poaching of elephants across Africa. Last night, Hilary Benn the Environment Secretary said Britain would not support the proposal to sell of hundreds of elephant tusks which will be voted on at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Qatar in March.

If the sale is to go ahead it will be the third such sale of ivory since the international ban in the trade of ivory which was introduced 20 years ago. The two previous sales in 1997 and 2008 are believed to have weakened the ban and contributed to an upsurge in poaching especially over the last year as the illegal market has been strengthened. Fears have been raised that the sale of stockpiled ivory which will be sold legally will allow illegal ivory to enter the market. In several West African countries, such as Senegal, elephant populations are on the verge of extinction.

Although last night Hilary Benn made his statement, he added “In 2008, the members of the CITES agreed to a single, one-off sale of legal, stockpiled ivory from countries with stable elephant populations. The sale was intended to reduce demand for illegal poached ivory. The UK will not consider other sales of ivory until the effects of last-year’s sale have been fully analysed.” This seems to suggest that Britain may reconsider it’s position on the sale of this ivory if a second request is made by Tanzania and Zambia in March.

A number of African countries oppose the sale of these stock piles, led by Kenya and Mali who will be sending representatives to Brussels in order to lobby Europe to uphold the ban.  Read more…..