GENEVA—A ban on international commercial trade in the Asian small-clawed otter has been agreed by an overwhelming majority by world leaders attending the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP18), being held in Geneva, Switzerland. Countries voted to list the Asian small-clawed otter on Appendix I, in addition to an earlier vote to also list the smooth-coated otter on Appendix I. Humane Society International/India and its global affiliate Humane Society International, part of one of the largest global animal protection charities in the world, welcomes the CITES uplisting as essential to the survival of these species.
Mark Simmonds, senior marine scientist at Humane Society International, said: “A wide variety of threats is adversely affecting the Asian small-clawed otter in the wild, such as habitat loss, pollution, and the fur trade, but increasingly it is persecution for the pet trade that is proving its downfall. This is the smallest and arguably the ‘cutest’ of all the otter species, and interest in them, fanned by photos and film on social media, means that a market for live pet animals has been swiftly growing in Asia. They are increasingly being seen in coffee shops in Japan and elsewhere where they are used as props to entice customers who share their experiences on social media platforms like Instagram, thus perpetuating the otter craze.
“With so much stacked against these otters, who are now classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, we are delighted that they will now benefit from this very welcome, precautionary agreement to give them the highest protection at CITES. The Appendix I listing effectively bans international trade for commercial purposes and removes one of the key threats that they face. This isn’t the end of the story however. We urgently need other complementary conservation initiatives to truly tackle the otter’s demise, and so we hope that this new CITES listing will act as a call to action. We commend India, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh for bringing both the otter proposals forward, and all the countries and conservation organizations that supported them.”
Sumanth Bindumadhav, HSI/India’s wildlife campaign manager who presented an intervention on the floor of CITES CoP on behalf of 24 other national and international non-profit organisations, said: “HSI/India has long highlighted the myriad threats faced by the small-clawed and smooth-coated otters, so we are delighted by these important CITES actions. Appendix I listings will send an important and timely warning, not least to online and social media audiences, that these are imperilled species and that trade in them is harmful to their welfare and their overall species survival. We hope that it will also lead to additional trade controls, enhanced scrutiny of captive-breeding operations, and aid enforcement, given the challenge in distinguishing between tropical Asian otter species once in trade.”
The decision needs to be ratified at the plenary session of the CITES conference on August 27/28th.
Media contact at CITES CoP in Geneva: Sumanth Bindumadhav, +91 99808 72975 sbindumadhav@hsi.org
Goodall sends plea to EU; follows open letter from Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams
Humane Society International / Europe
JGI
GENEVA–World-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall Ph.D., DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, and UN Messenger of Peace, has issued a heart-felt plea to the European Union not to overturn a ban passed this week at the CITES wildlife trade conference in Geneva that would end the capture of baby African elephants from the wild for export to zoos and circuses in China, the USA and elsewhere.
The ban was voted on and passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). However a representative for the European Commission took to the floor to speak against the ban, and with its credentials now in order, the voting bloc of 28 looks set to oppose the decision in the plenary next week.
Dr. Goodall said: “This is to say that I am absolutely shocked at the thought of capturing young elephants, taking them from their families, and sending them off to a future which will inevitably involve a great deal of trauma and suffering. The bonds between infant elephants and their mothers are as strong and enduring – in some cases more so – as those between human children and their mothers. To break that bond is cruel and inhumane. I cannot imagine any caring person agreeing to such an unethical proposal and I hope with all my heart that the EU will not vote against the provisional decision taken in CITES with a two thirds majority.”
Dr. Goodall’s message to the EU follows an open letter signed by a host of stars such as Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan and Jenny Seagrove. The letter was co-ordinated by Humane Society International, the Born Free Foundation, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, World Animal Protection, and David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
Jeffrey Flocken, President of Humane Society International said: “The capture of African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities is highly controversial. These highly social and emotional creatures can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. There is no excuse for allowing this heartless trade to continue. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could easily overturn the decision if it chooses to oppose the ban. We hope EU leaders take heed of Dr. Goodall’s wise words and won’t condemn more elephant families to being ripped apart.”
Ian Redmond, tropical field biologist and conservationist who is renowned for his work with great apes and elephants, also expressed his opposition to the live elephant trade, saying: “Having studied elephants, I know how important an elephant’s childhood is – every elephant child learns how to thrive in their family’s habitat and that habitat benefits from the elephants. To separate a young elephant from his or her family for a life of social and sensory deprivation in captivity is bad for the captive, bad for the grieving family left behind, and bad for the habitat.”
At present, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana are allowed to be captured and exported to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. However, it is under these conditions that Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012. If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in live wild African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana will cease and be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations.”
Photos, video and interviews
Wildlife experts from HSI attending CITES are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.
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Media contacts:
Humane Society International – Wendy Higgins, director of international media, whiggins@hsi.org, tel. +44 (0) 7989 972 423
Jane Goodall Institute – Shawn Sweeney, senior director of community engagement, ssweeney@janegoodall.org, tel. 703.682.9283
Humane Society International / Global
Vanessa Mignon
GENEVA—In a great relief to conservationists, governments at the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have shown no appetite for lifting bans on trade in rhinos and their horns.
The government of Eswatini had put forward a dangerous proposal to downgrade protection for its tiny southern white rhino population from Appendix I to Appendix II in order to allow commercial trade in rhino parts included its horn.
Namibia had proposed downgrading its rhino population to Appendix II in order to allow commercial trade in live animals and hunting trophies. The populations of both countries are highly vulnerable to poaching.
Adam Peyman, HSI’s Wildlife Programs and Operations Manager, says “The international trade in rhino horn has been banned since 1977, and to reopen it would be a disaster for the survival and welfare of this magnificent species. So seeing Eswatini’s dangerous proposal defeated at CITES is a huge relief for all of us dedicated to preserving the rhino for future generations. There are only 66 southern white rhinos left in the wild in Eswatini, so opening up trade internationally in their horn would not only almost certainly be the final nail in the coffin for this species nationally, but it would very likely result in increased poaching in other rhino range states in Asia and Africa, as well as increased demand for horn in Asia. Law enforcement officers are struggling enough as it is to hold back the tide of rhino poaching and trafficking. To have a hope of saving rhinos from extinction, the ban on global commercial trade needs to hold firm.”
“There are only 1,037 southern white rhino left in the wild in Namibia, and across Africa they are considered Near Threatened, so defeating Namibia’s attempt to reduce CITES protections was an important victory for the survival of this species. Namibia’s conviction rate for poaching is already woefully inadequate so any reduction in protections would have been highly dangerous and irresponsible,” said Mr. Peyman.
The decisions will need to be approved in a plenary session at the CITES meeting on August 27/28.
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Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Australia: Ben Vozzo +61 450 258 057, ben@hsi.org.au
Humane Society International / Global
GENEVA—Critically endangered giant guitarfish and wedgefish rays have a better chance against extinction thanks to international trade controls agreed today at the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting.
Governments reached agreement in a decisive vote on Appendix II listings on proposals for six species of giant guitarfish and ten species of wedgefish. They were each co-sponsored by record breaking numbers of countries, led by Senegal and Sri Lanka.
CITES Appendix II listings means trade in the species’ meat and fins in these critically endangered species must now be regulated. White-spotted wedgefish made up the highest percentage of species in the Singapore fin trade in a recent study.
Rebecca Regnery, Humane Society International wildlife senior director, says: “Over-fishing, including for the lucrative Asian shark fin market, is having a devastating impact on guitarfish and wedgefish. New estimates show that guitarfishes and wedgefishes are already Critically Endangered so the deadly consequence of this trade cannot be overestimated.
Regnery intervened in the debate on behalf of the marine NGO community and said: “When most people think about sharks, they forget about or perhaps do not even know about the flat-bodied species like the giant guitarfishes. Yet these are some of the most valuable and under-protected shark-like species found in trade. And because of that, their populations have been seriously depleted worldwide.”
Humane Society International strongly commends the more than 60 governments led by Senegal and Sri Lanka who co-sponsored the guitarfish and wedgefish proposals and brought them this much needed protection. They join two species of mako shark listed earlier today.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
An important first step in stopping the brutally cruel & wasteful trade, says Humane Society International
Humane Society International / Global
Wildestanimal/Alamy Stock Photo Short fin mako shark swimming off Western Cape, South Africa
GENEVA—Fast swimming mako sharks have a better chance of escaping extinction thanks to global trade controls agreed today at the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting.
The short and longfin mako shark proposal, led by Mexico and also backed by multiple countries, faced fierce opposition from countries reluctant to see CITES involvement in industrial scale pelagic fisheries. After heated long debate the two mako species were listed in Appendix II with 102 countries voting in favor, 40 opposed and 5 abstentions achieving the 2/3 majority required.
CITES Appendix II listings means international trade in the species’ meat and fins must be regulated. This will prompt regional fishing management organisations to address their woeful neglect of mako sharks caught in longline fisheries.
Rebecca Regnery, Humane Society International wildlife senior director, says: “Over-fishing, including for the lucrative Asian shark fin market, is having a devastating impact on longfin and shortfin mako sharks. Securing CITES protections for these species is an important first step in stopping the brutally cruel and wasteful practice in which sharks and rays have their fins cut off their bodies, sometimes while fully conscious.”
“But Appendix II protection doesn’t in itself ban trade, so to secure the future for these sharks and rays, this new CITES listings needs to be the start of a whole raft of other measures aimed at cracking down on this vile trade,” concluded Ms Regnery.
Humane Society International strongly commends the governments led by Mexico, Senegal and Sri Lanka who co-sponsored the mako shark proposal and brought them this much needed protection.
CITES debate has now moved to proposals to list species of wedgefish and guitarfish also in the shark and ray family.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
Commercial trade in ivory is the biggest threat to the survival of African elephants, says Humane Society International
Humane Society International / Global
Iris Ho/HSISeized elephant ivory in Kenya waiting to be destroyed, 2016
GENEVA—Elephant advocates are celebrating in Geneva as the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has today roundly rejected proposals to open up international commercial trade in elephant ivory.
Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe had proposed they be allowed to lift restrictions on their Appendix II CITES listings to allow trade in registered government-owned ivory stock piles. They offered a floor amendment to allow a one-off sale followed by a six-year moratorium. The amended proposal was defeated with only 23 countries in support, 101 opposing and 18 abstentions. Zambia proposed that its elephant population be down listed from Appendix I to Appendix II, also so that it could trade in its registered raw ivory and other elephant specimens. Its proposal was overwhelmingly defeated as well with 22 in support, 102 opposed and 13 abstentions.
Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist: “Commercial trade in ivory is the biggest threat to the survival of African elephants. So it was incredibly important to see so many African nations show their unwavering opposition to this destructive trade at today’s vote. While it is unfortunate that a handful of southern African countries showed themselves to be out of touch with reality, supporting ivory trade despite an increase in poaching and alarming transnational ivory trafficking in certain areas, at the end of the day common sense prevailed. We are thrilled that the CITES Parties overwhelmingly rejected the reopening of the international commercial trade in ivory.”
Humane Society International strongly commends the 32 countries in the African Elephant Coalition for opposing the commercial ivory trade and all of the CITES parties that stood with them today.
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Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Wildlife advocates applaud global wildlife convention’s decision to regulate international trade in the species
Humane Society International / Global
Michelle Riley/HSUS
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today agreed to protect giraffes for the first time by listing the species on Appendix II, which will now regulate international trade in giraffe parts, such as hides, bones and meat. Today’s decision now moves forward to the plenary session for full ratification on 27/28th August.
Adam Peyman, Humane Society International’s wildlife programs and operations manager, said: “Securing CITES Appendix II protection for the giraffe throws a vital lifeline to this majestic species, which has been going quietly extinct for years. This listing could not come soon enough. CITES listing will ensure that giraffe parts in international trade were legally acquired and not detrimental to the survival of the species.
Humane Society International is concerned the giraffe has been in danger of suffering a silent extinction, because the 36-40% population decline it has suffered over the past 30 years has received insufficient attention.
Once ranging over much of the semi-arid savannah and savannah woodlands of Africa, today giraffe are only found south of the Sahara and only about 68,000 mature individuals remain in the wild. The species was recently classified as ‘Vulnerable’ to extinction by the IUCN. International trade in body parts of poached giraffes threatens the survival of Critically Endangered, Endangered, small and declining giraffe populations. Other threats include habitat loss, and civil unrest.
HSI’s Adam Peyman continues: “Although this new CITES listing won’t ban the trade in giraffe parts, it will for the first time provide critical measures to track and trace this trade, which in turn should produce the data needed to further protect this imperiled species in the future. With the wild population of giraffes having dwindled to around 100,000, in order to truly protect this species from being slaughtered into extinction for trophies and trinkets, we need CITES to update its definition of what constitutes international trade. It is absurd that the scourge of trophy hunting is not currently considered trade in wild species, despite its devastating impact, and we intend to push to see that change.”
Humane Society International has examined United States trade data and found that at least 33,000 giraffe specimens were commercially imported into the country between 2006 and 2015 and almost all were wild sourced. They included bone carvings, bones, skin and bone pieces. An undercover investigation conducted by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States in 2018 illustrated this thriving trade in giraffe.
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal for proposing the giraffe for listing and the other countries in the African Elephant Coalition for giving it their strong support.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, [+1-202-360-3532]
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Brigitte Bardot, Pamela Anderson, Thandie Newton, Evanna Lynch, Virginia McKenna, Joanna Lumley and Bryan Adams call on EU leaders at CITES wildlife conference not to overturn ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants for zoos and circuses
Humane Society International / Europe
Carole Deschuymere/Alamy
GENEVA–Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Leona Lewis, Dame Judi Dench, Alesha Dixon, Evanna Lynch, Bryan Adams, Virginia McKenna OBE, Thandie Newton, Pamela Anderson, Peter Egan, and Jenny Seagrove are among a host of compassionate personalities who have joined forces with animal protection and conservation groups including Humane Society International, Brigitte Bardot Foundation, The Born Free Foundation, David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, World Animal Protection and the Species Survival Network, in signing an urgent Open Letter to EU officials calling on them to support, not oppose, a ban on trade in wild-caught baby African elephants, ripped from their families and shipped off to foreign zoos.
The ban was first voted on and approved earlier this week by a majority of countries attending the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Geneva, but the EU voting bloc of 28 is expected to attempt to overturn it at the plenary vote next week.
The full letter and list of celebrity signers and the organizations be read here.
Forty-six countries attending CITES voted to end the highly-controversial trade in wild-caught African elephants from Zimbabwe and Botswana to captive facilities such as zoos in China and elsewhere. This represents an historic, landmark decision for elephants, who are social and emotional creatures and can suffer physically and psychologically in captivity. However, there is concern that the vote could be reopened at next week’s plenary meeting on August 27th and 28th and that the ban will be opposed by the European Union.
The ‘ban’ was passed by the required 2/3 majority vote in Committee I of CITES largely because the EU was unable to vote due to a procedural issue (it had not yet filed its credentials). The European Union – which spoke against the ban before the vote, and now has its credentials in order – looks set to vote against. As a 28-country voting bloc, the European Union’s vote is substantial and could overturn the decision if it opposes the ban. In that case, elephant families would continue to be ripped apart, and baby elephants condemned to a lifetime of suffering in captivity.
The letter reads: “Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey into captivity have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heart-breaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.”
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish Presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range States, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts, and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.”
Speaking from the CITES meeting, Audrey Delsink, Humane Society International/Africa Wildlife Director and elephant biologist, said, “Elephants are highly sentient and social beings, and the loss of captured individuals causes sustained psychological trauma for both the captured elephant and the remaining family. Public opinion is shifting and people throughout the world are appalled by the capture of baby elephants from the wild for export to zoos. The EU must not turn its back on elephants.”
Will Travers OBE, President of the Born Free Foundation said, “The public are increasingly distressed at the plight of elephants in captivity and sanctuaries in the US, Brazil, Europe and elsewhere are now doing their best to care for numerous elephants that are being increasingly shed by traditional captive facilities in the West. If the EU scuppers this progressive and positive CITES measure next week it will demonstrate just how massively out of step EU leaders are with the compassionate views of its citizens.”
“France is supportive of this measure but most of the EU countries oppose the proposal although it would be an historic step forward for the conservation of the African elephant,” said Elodie Gérôme-Delgado, Programme Leader Wildlife Worldwide at the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. “We’re urging EU Member States to follow France’s lead as they have a unique chance today to put an end to a cruel and useless practice.”
Cassandra Koenen, Global Head of Wildlife not Pets at World Animal Protection said, “We urge the EU to protect these majestic animals. The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world. Elephants have suffered enough, and the absolute last thing we should subject them to is long, stressful transportation across the world, and unsuitable new homes in the name of entertainment.”
“This historic step could turn the tide on the brutal and torturous reality of the live trade in elephants. Elephants are sentient beings that belong in the wild, they are not a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. The sooner we put the emotional wellbeing of the species before our own short-sighted financial gain, the sooner we will regain a small slice of our humanity,” said Karen Botha, Chief Executive of David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
If the ban is not passed next week, African elephants in Zimbabwe and Botswana will continue to be allowed to capture and export live elephants to so-called “appropriate and acceptable” destinations based on the annotation to the Appendix II listing of their elephant populations. Under these conditions, Zimbabwe has captured more than 100 live baby African elephants in the wild and exported them to zoos in China since 2012.
If the EU supports the ban and it is voted through, such international trade in wild African elephant exported from Zimbabwe and Botswana will be limited to only “in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the species’ natural range, except in the case of temporary transfers in emergency situations”.
Photos, video and interviews
Wildlife experts from supporting NGOs are available for interview on request. Photos and video of the baby elephant captures are also available here.
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Media contacts:
Humane Society International – Wendy Higgins whiggins@hsi.org +44 (0) 7989 972 423
Born Free Foundation – Gemma Hook hook@pmwcom.co.uk+44 (0)7920 820 018
Alan Carr, Alesha Dixon, Bella Lack, Bill Bailey, Bonnie Wright, Brigitte Bardot, Bryan Adams, Dan Richardson, Deborah Meaden, Dougie Poynter, Evanna Lynch, Gordon Buchanan, Jenny Seagrove, Joanna Lumley, John Challis, Judi Dench, Kate Humble, Lauren St John, Leona Lewis, Lily Travers, Brendan Courtney, Marc Abrahams, Mollie King, Nicky Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Paul O’Grady, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais, Robert Lindsay, Rula Lenska, Simon Pegg, Susie Dent, Thandie Newton, Virginia McKenna.
List of the animal and wildlife conservation organizations that support this sign-on letter:
Animal Welfare Institute
Born Free Foundation
Born Free USA
Brigitte Bardot Foundation
Eurogroup for Animals
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
Fondation Franz Weber
Humane Society International
Pro Wildlife
Robin des Bois
Species Survival Network
The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network
World Animal Protection
Content of the Letter:
For the attention of Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, incoming EU Commission President, and Antti Juhani Rinne, Prime Minister of Finland and President of the EU Council of Ministers
PLEASE DON’T OVERTURN THE CITES BAN ON SENDING BABY AFRICAN ELEPHANTS TO FOREIGN ZOOS AND CIRCUSES
The world has been shocked to see distressing video and photos of terrified baby African elephants being rounded up and snatched from their families in the wild, to be shipped to zoos and circuses around the world.
This week, 46 governments attending the triennual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in a landmark decision voted in committee to end the barbaric practice of capturing live wild-caught baby and juvenile elephants for this heartless trade. In doing so they voiced their overwhelming support for the 32 African nations who advocated for a ban on all such transports of live elephants, and restrict these transports exclusively to in situ conservation programmes or secure areas in the wild within the African elephant’s natural range. An open letter by 55 elephant experts this week agrees entirely with this position.
Shamefully, the European Union wants to overturn this historic victory. The CITES Parties will still need to take a final vote next week and the EU intends to vote against the ban. If it does so the EU’s vote will condemn wild-caught elephants to a lifetime in unnatural captivity just so that zoos and circuses in the EU and elsewhere can continue to have a steady flow of live elephants from the wild.
Elephants are social and emotional creatures who form strong family bonds and suffer tremendously in captivity. Captured elephants can face horrific abuse during the capture process. Footage of wild-caught baby elephants awaiting export from Zimbabwe shows calves being beaten and kicked during capture. Some elephants have died during transit or shortly after arrival. Elephants who survive the long journey have been observed living in dark, barren cells in the holding facilities and zoos, in stark and heartbreaking contrast to the vast wilderness in which they naturally roam with family groups and larger clans.
We call on all EU Environment ministers and the Finnish presidency, representing the EU as a 28 voting bloc at the CITES meeting, to reflect the position of the majority of African elephant range states, the great majority of EU citizens, and leading elephant experts and support the proposal to end the export of wild-caught elephants for captive use.
It would be obscene for the EU to endorse snatching wild baby elephants and condemning these beautiful leviathans to a life of captive misery.
Humane Society International / Global
Adam Peyman/HSIAfrican elephant ivory products for sale in Tokyo, Japan
GENEVA—The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today confirmed its commitment to closure of domestic ivory markets agreeing by consensus to focus scrutiny on remaining legal markets like Japan and the EU. The discussions focused attention on markets that remain open with obvious concern regarding their contribution to illegal trade and poaching. In a positive step forward, Israel noted its recent announcement on closure of its domestic markets in elephant and mammoth ivory, and Australia announced its intent to close its market. The European Union stated that they will tighten regulations.
The previous meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2016 called on countries to close domestic ivory markets that are “contributing to poaching or illegal trade.” Some countries, notably Japan and the EU, have claimed that their markets were not known to be contributing to elephant poaching or illegal trade and have held out on taking action. Under today’s agreement, countries whose ivory markets remain open will now be requested to report on the measures they are taking to ensure that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade. Japan – which has a significant domestic ivory market and has been implicated in ivory trafficking to China – will be bound by this agreed decision, if affirmed by plenary next week.
A number of Parties, including several African elephant range States such as Gabon, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Nigeria Angola and Liberia, reiterated that all legal domestic ivory markets create opportunities to launder illegal ivory contributing to poaching and illegal trade.
Iris Ho, Humane Society International’s senior wildlife specialist says: “It is a welcome reassurance that the CITES Parties recognize the necessity of and urgency for any remaining significant ivory markets, such as Japan and the European Union, to shut down their ivory trade. No country should be off the hook when a growing number of countries including China, the United States, Singapore and the United Kingdom have adopted measures to restrict or ban their domestic ivory trade. We call on Japan to heed the recommendation of the CoP and close its domestic or intra-EU commercial ivory trade as soon as possible.”
Humane Society International warmly congratulates the governments of Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic for championing this proposal, as well as all 32 countries African Elephant Coalition for advocating for closure of domestic ivory markets worldwide. The agreement reached today will now go forward to the plenary of the conference for ratification on 27/28th August.
ENDS
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1-202-360-3532 (cell/WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
Humane Society International / Global
Anagramm/iStock.com
This release has been corrected.
GENEVA—The first vote at the 18th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties has delivered a historic win for African elephants to end the cruel practice of removing live elephants from the wild for export to captive facilities. CITES is the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Iris Ho, senior wildlife specialist for wildlife programs and policy for Humane Society International, said: “This decision will save countless elephants from being ripped away from their families in the wild and forced to spend their lifetimes imprisoned in substandard conditions at zoos. HSI applauds this decision and calls on all Parties to affirm this decision at the plenary session next week.”
CITES Parties voted to limit trade in live wild African elephants to ‘in situ’ conservation in their natural habitats, which will end the trade in live wild elephants to captivity in zoos and entertainment venues, effectively ruling them unacceptable and inappropriate destinations. (CoP18 Document 44.2)
Forty-six countries voted in favour, 18 voted against and 19 countries abstained. This achieved the 2/3 majority for the proposal to pass in committee.
Audrey Delsink, director of wildlife for Humane Society International/Africa and an elephant biologist, said, “The export of live wild elephants serves no credible conservation purpose and is opposed by numerous elephant biologists. Elephants are highly intelligent, social animals with strong family bonds. The capture of baby elephants is horribly cruel and traumatic to both the mothers, their calves and their herds that are left behind. Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers. Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that does not meet their complex needs.”
The decision applies to the elephants in Botswana and Zimbabwe* with elephant populations on Appendix II of CITES, which has an annotation that permits this trade to “appropriate and acceptable destinations.”
Zimbabwe has captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012. These calves, severely traumatized by being torn from their mothers, were subsequently abused through violent handling that included being kicked and beaten, and several have consequently died.
HSI warmly congratulates Burkina Faso, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria for putting forward this important proposal, which was backed by the 32 member countries of the African Elephant Coalition.
END
Media contacts:
At CITES: Brianna Grant, bgrant@hsi.org, +1 518-487-0975 (cell and WhatsApp)
United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org
*An earlier version of this news release erroneously stated that the proposal affects elephants in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The proposal applies only to Botswana and Zimbabwe.
