It's a strange paradox - stockpiles of Southern Africa's ivory will be sold off at auction to China and Japan, to raise funds for elephant conservation projects within Africa, in the first officially sanctioned sale of ivory in nearly a decade. Yes, that's the news that has appeared on the BBC website today and any traveller interested in wildlife and conservation will certainly see irony.
Elephants that were hunted and killed for ivory will be helping to save elephants that exist over Africa today - it doesn't quite make sense, but at the same time, if raised funds will do some good, rather than those elephant lives be wasted, is it a sensible thing to do?
Conservationists such as the Born Free Foundation think not. They are worried that the auction will again spark off interest in the trade again and in the BBC report, Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation, says "We are deeply concerned that these sales will open the floodgates to additional illegal trade."
The ivory trade was banned globally in 1989 because poaching was decimating elephant populations. This, and a sale that took place in 1999, are the only exceptions. Namibia will auction its stockpile of nine tonnes on Tuesday, followed by Botswana's much larger disposal of 44 tonnes on Friday. The South African and Zimbabwean sales take place next week.
Read the related post here: Controversial ivory sale to open
Links you might be interested in:
The Born Free Foundation
Elephant Trust
International Elephant Foundation
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