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Sustainable
eNews |
November 2002 |
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IWMC
World Conservation Trust |
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African Countries
Agree on Ivory Sales
November 5, 2002
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A States Dialogue meeting in Chile ahead of the
CITES COP 12 gathering yielded an agreement by South Africa, Zimbabwe,
Namibia and Botswana to permit the strictly regulated trade in ivory.
While Kenya, predictably, did not join the consensus, a unified African
position now exists in Santiago. Under the agreement, 70 tonnes of ivory
from existing stockpiles will be sold in a single export. This ivory was
legally obtained from natural mortality of elephants and from official
management actions.
After May 2004, a majority at a meeting of African elephant range states
can authorize annual quotas, but only after feedback is received from
monitoring systems. Income from ivory sales will be used to finance
elephant conservation programs and benefit local communities, a policy
strongly advocated by IWMC.
Sales have been set at 30,000 kg for South Africa, 20,000 kg for
Botswana, and 10,000 kg each for Namibia and Zimbabwe.
The agreement is a major victory for common sense and will test the
sincerity of animal rights groups like IFAW who claim in their CITES
publicity material that: "In each region where we work, IFAW’s
activities are informed by local customs and culture and tailored to the
particular economic and political conditions of that area."
IFAW and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) have been at the
forefront of efforts to prohibit all ivory sales to anyone other than
themselves. HSUS had been secretly negotiating with South African officials
to purchase ivory stocks, intending to burn them and thus waste a valuable
resource. 
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Yes, It’s a Business
November 5, 2002
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The business of raising cash by promoting animal
rights and welfare issues is on full display in Chile this week. Some may
find such in-your-face commercialism vulgar, given that CITES COP12 is not,
after all, a major sporting event.
IFAW, the fundamentalist animal rights campaign group, now appears to be
the official sponsor of CITES, with it’s logo emblazoned on the
ubiquitous conference bag, as well as on local street signs and posters.
This is rather like the National Rifle Association sponsoring an
anti-gun rally. IFAW has no interest in protecting endangered species and
no interest in trade. It advocates protecting all species, by prohibiting
or restricting trade, irrespective of abundance.
The gold standard for IFAW is the potential public appeal of species,
with obscure insects for example, playing second fiddle to elephants and
whales that no longer need "saving" from man. All of which is
confirmed by IFAW’s propaganda, contained in the CITES pack, which
innocently proclaims its 200 campaigners, lawyers, lobbyists and
"scientists" – terms that say volumes about the organization’s
modus operandi and little about actual conservation.
The sponsorship deal unfortunately suggests an association between the
CITES Secretariat and the prohibitionists, creating the false impression of
institutional support for the fundamentalist position of animal rights
organizations. In fact, ICUN has twice rejected IFAW's application for
membership, on the basis of its animal rights status.
IFAW will claim that its partnership with CITES demonstrates the
authority of its agenda, disguised as it is in glossy brochures and
attractive web designs. It will also doubtless use the association with
CITES as a marketing tool to raise more money.
As the beautiful Andes appear suspended in the sky outside Santiago,
IFAW appears to be sitting uncomfortably close to Zeus in Olympus.
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