The UN’s wildlife trade organisations have turned down Tanzania’s and Zambia’s requests to sell ivory amid concern about elephant poaching, BBC online reports Sunday.
The countries asked the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting to permit one-off sales from government stockpiles.
The ivory trade was banned in 1989, but three sales have since been granted to nations showing effective conservation. A Kenyan proposal to ban all such sales in future years was also defeated.
Most conservation groups were delighted that the Tanzanian and Zambian bids were turned down. But they argue that illegal poaching is the main issue facing African elephants, rather than the occasional legal sale.
– Poaching and illegal ivory markets in central and western Africa must be effectively suppressed before any further ivory sales take place, said Elisabeth McLellan, species programme mana-ger with WWF International.
