Warning over poachers as ivory is sold legally

The first legal auction of ivory in more than a decade began yesterday, despite warnings from scientists and conservation groups that the sale will lead to an increase in the illegal poaching of elephants.

Four southern African nations have been given special permission by the UN to sell 108 tons of ivory obtained from elephants that died of natural causes or were killed in population management programmes. But many conservationists have said the sale will open the floodgates to illegal poachers who kill up to 20,000 elephants each year to sell ivory on the black market.

Bidding for nine tons of ivory held by Namibia began yesterday morning in a closed auction. Three further auctions are planned for South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe over the next four weeks.

Related articles

• The Big Question: Is it right to sell ivory, or does it just encourage the poaching of elephants?
• Search the news archive for more stories

Only China and Japan are allowed to buy the tusks following a decision by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) last year in which it gave the two countries buyer status. At the auction, China spent $674,530 (£432,990) on 3,840kg of low-quality ivory and Japan spent $511,730 on 3,386kg of smaller pieces. Cites gave the four countries permission to sell their ivory hoards because elephant populations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe are stable or increasing. Money made from the sales will be ploughed back into conservation programmes but critics fear the arrival of so much legal ivory in Japan and China will allow poachers to pass illegal ivory off as legally obtained. They also fear poachers in less stable countries such as Chad and in the Congo Basin will redouble their efforts to hunt elephants.

Michael Wamithi, a former director of Kenya Wildlife Service who now works at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, attacked Cites' decision to go ahead with the auction. "Allowing this exorbitant amount of ivory to flood the market, considering the level of elephant poaching occurring today, is just plain irresponsible," he said. "Rangers on the front line in elephant-range states continue to lose their lives protecting elephants from poaching. By permitting legal trade in ivory, we are only encouraging the laundering of illicit ivory, thereby increasing illegal hunting activities. The situation is very clear; more ivory in the marketplace equals many more dead elephants and rangers."

An international ban on the ivory trade was brought in 19 years ago after Africa's elephant population dropped from 1.3 million in 1979 to little more than 600,000 10 years later.

The ban was intended to be permanent and worldwide but in 1997 a campaign led by the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe persuaded Cites that elephant populations in the four southern African nations were stable and that carefully monitored sales of tusks should go ahead.

Switch your Gas & Electricity and save up to £380 with Independent Compare