Kenya says if the problem of ivory trading is ignored, African elephants may be poached to extinction.
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“We have the chance to say that ivory is a symbol of destruction, not of luxury, and not something that anyone needs to buy or sell”. As the number one donor for wildlife conservation with a total support of 24 million Euro covering 71 protected sites in Africa and Asia, the European Union supports the creation and management of protected areas which host the most emblematic species of the African continent.
Andrea Leadsom, the environment secretary, announced a ban on “modern day ivory sales” this week but said ivory antiques made before 1947 could continue to be traded.
The royal conducted a tour of the charity’s projects in Botswana in 2010 with Prince Harry, and this April visited Tusk-supported programmes in the north of Kenya.
“We’ve been expecting an increase in elephant poaching as the rhino population decreases and as the value of elephants increases”. This decision strangely contradicts a resolution by the European Parliament itself on the 15th September to put all elephants on CITES Appendix I.
“One concern is that the legal trade in ivory may “[create] a smoke screen for an illegal trade to flourish across the whole of the rest of the continent”, Frank Pope, operations manager at Save the Elephants, a Kenya-based group, told the Associated Press. “We must do it faster and do it better, but most importantly, we must do it together”, he said.
The Duke of Cambridge is urging world influencers to do more to combat innocent elephant poaching.
The MP said the ban on modern day ivory sales is the “first step” to tackle the “difficult, worldwide global issue” of poaching. This not only includes ministers and government representatives from the member countries, but also representatives from inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, civil society and other stakeholders, Molewa said. “The legalisation is just not feasible as there are just not enough animals left to sustain the demand and curb the corruption at supply”, she said.
Dame Judith MacGregor, British High Commissioner to South Africa, said that as ambassador she could not comment on her government’s policy but she did say, “Prince William reflected that there is a general popular increase in concern and that’s certainly true about the United Kingdom and should rightly be bringing pressure on our politicians to respond”.
Twin sisters Tilly and Imogen Fitzjohn, 16, from Stowe School, spoke to the Duke after his speech.
“This is a huge boost for elephants on the eve of the CITES conference”, said Rosalind Reeve, senior adviser to Fondation Franz Weber and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. “I think it’s so important”.
At the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) which opens in Johannesburg on Saturday 24 September, the European Union will not vote as individual member states but as a bloc which, according to a decision taken the European Commission on 1st July, means they will oppose a total ban on worldwide trade in ivory.
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Prince William is on a mission to save one of our planet’s most treasured species.
