South Africa an Outlier on Ivory Policies
It stands nearly alone in opposing the destruction of illegal ivory stockpiles and other measures widely believed to combat poaching.
This week, representatives from countries around the world are gathered in Geneva to discuss the wildlife trade. The agenda ranges from rhinos to totoabas, but one of the hottest topics is ivory: Some 30,000 elephants are slaughtered for their tusks each year.
One thing that came up at the 66th meeting of the Standing Committee for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was whether to continue developing a decision-making process for the trade in ivory.
The United States, the European Union, Kenya, Uganda, and many other parties to CITES argued that given the current poaching crisis it would be unproductive and dangerous to proceed with discussions about legalizing the ivory trade.
South Africa
