Sad news. Incidentally, this presents to the world more evidence that the CITES Western animals groups sponsored ivory trade is not helping to save a single elephant in Africa as poacher continue to poach elephants. The ban has failed the African people and elephants.
The poachers are now using dangerous poaching approaches that even kill vultures.
It’s high time CITES member countries stopped burying their heads in the sand thinking that ivory trade will save African elephants.
The ivory trade ban has failed dismally for the past 43 years. How long can we continue with this failed experiment?
Therefore, CITES member countries should give a two-thirds majority yes-vote for the reopening of international trade in ivory for the proponent southern African countries at CITES COP18, Geneva Switzerland.
We seek to live in a just and fair world where all nations are treated equally.
Sadly, this is an ideal that is far from being achieved within CITES. But Africans have not lost hope to get support from progressive nations in Switzerland.
Emmanuel Koro
Johannesburg-based environmental journalist
