IFAW: Victory for elephants with rejection of Zambian proposal at CITES

Parties voted against the downlisting of Zambian elephants today at CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

Zambia amended its proposal to remove the request for a one-off sale of ivory, seeking only the downlisting of elephants from Appendix I to Appendix II.

“This is a real victory for elephants,” said Jason Bell-Leask, Director of IFAW Southern Africa. “CITES Parties voted in favour of conservation, following the same logic applied to the Tanzanian proposal for a one-off sale and downlisting which was rejected earlier today.

“Common sense and sound conservation principles have prevailed today. We can only hope that Parties will also support the proposal from Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone which calls for an amendment to the nine-year moratorium agreed at the last Conference of the Parties to apply to all African Range States.

“The Congo proposal will give all African range states the time they desperately need to put in place measures that will determine the true impact that these ivory-trade proposals have at CITES.”

The Congo proposal suggests expanding a nine-year waiting period for future ivory sales to cover all African range states, rather than just the four countries involved in the most recent stockpile sales (Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe).

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Media contact: Erica Martin at IFAW in Doha +974 7911 976 or email emartin@ifaw.org

Alternatively contact Clare Sterling at IFAW in the UK on 020 7587 6708, mobile 07917 507717 or email csterling@ifaw.org

About the International Fund for Animal Welfare – As one of the world’s leading animal welfare organisations, IFAW has representation in 16 countries and carries out its animal welfare work in more than 40. IFAW works from its global headquarters in the United States and focuses its campaigns on improving the welfare of wild and domestic animals by reducing the commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats and assisting animals in distress. IFAW works both on the ground and in the halls of government to safeguard wild and domestic animals and seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people. Visit www.ifaw.org