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A Deadly Trade:

Five South African Nations Bid to Sell Ivory

Confirming the worst fears of many animal protectionists, greed has won out over good judgment in the southern African nations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These nations recently made it clear to the international community that they value the money from the ivory trade more than they value the survival of already dwindling populations of elephants.

The the five nations have submitted proposals to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), asking to reduce international protections given to elephants within their borders and to trade internationally in stockpiled ivory. If the proposals are approved at the CITES meeting in November in Chile, elephant poaching could increase.

The five nations are requesting permission to sell off their stockpiled ivory. They want to export a total of 87 metric tons of ivory at first, representing about 11,000 dead elephants. In addition, they want to export an additional 13 metric tons annually, equaling an additional 1,500 dead elephants each year. Moreover, they want to be able to export an unlimited number of tourist souvenirs each year.

Confusing Consumers and Encouraging Poachers

Experts see no good coming from approving these proposals. "If the proposals are approved, it will make the an already bad situation worse by confusing consumers as to the legality of ivory and by feeding the demand for ivory," says Dr. Teresa Telecky, director of The HSUS's Wildlife Trade Program. "As we've already seen, an increased demand for ivory will, in turn, spur an increase in elephant poaching in African and Asian countries that are ill-equipped to fend off poachers."

Catastrophe

Any legal international trade in ivory could result in the kind of catastrophe seen before the 1989 ivory ban. Prior to 1989, all African elephant populations were listed on CITES Appendix II, which allowed a regulated trade. The ivory trade regulation scheme failed. At that time, over 90% of ivory in trade was from poached elephants. "If we've come to understand one thing, it's that international trade in ivory cannot be controlled, and that allowing any international trade, even on a one-time basis, has disastrous results for elephants," says Dr. Telecky.

To ban the trade in ivory, the Parties to CITES placed all elephants—African and Asian—on Appendix I. In 1997, CITES agreed to move the elephant populations of Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe back to Appendix II and to allow a one-time export of their stockpiles to Japan, which took place in 1999. Inspired by this turn of events, South Africa fought (and won) to have its elephants downlisted at the 2000 CITES meeting. But opposition from the majority of African countries put the lid on any further ivory trade.

As soon as the first downlisting was allowed, both poaching and illegal trade in ivory surged, though neither has yet reached pre-ban levels. Between January 1, 2000, and May 21, 2002, more than 5.9 tonnes of ivory, 2,542 tusks, and 14,648 pieces of ivory have been seized worldwide—representing more than 2,000 dead elephants. During the same period, a minimum of 965 African elephants and 39 Asian elephants have been poached and their ivory tusks removed. Furthermore, unconfirmed reports indicate that as many 200 elephants were killed in the Central African Republic in 2001.

It isn't only the elephant populations with decreased CITES protection that are targeted by poachers. Kenya's and India's elephants are listed in Appendix I, but they face threats from poaching whenever restrictions on the sale of ivory are eased. "Poachers in many countries increase activity whenever CITES ivory trade proposals are announced in order to stockpile ivory in anticipation that the international ivory trade will soon resume," Dr. Telecky says.

This means that nations that shortsightedly choose to make money off the corpses of their elephants jeopardize the success of those nations that choose to profit from live elephants. The money at stake for those nations in the latter category is considerable: In 1989, Kenya's elephants were worth an estimated $25 million in annual tourism revenue. Kenya and India, which have kept their elephants on Appendix I, report high elephant poaching levels in recent years. They have submitted a joint proposal for the CITES meeting that would return all African elephant populations to Appendix I.

A Recent Investigation

Ivory markets are flourishing. A recent investigation of South and Southeast Asian ivory markets, by researchers Esmond Martin and Dan Stiles for Save the Elephants, found more than 105,000 ivory items for sale in 521 retail shops in the 17 towns and cities in eight countries surveyed. Tourists and business travelers—including those from Europe, the United States, and Asia—are the main customers. Over 85% of the items on sale were jewelry, which is relatively cheap and easy to smuggle. Ivory products sold in Asian markets are made from the ivory of both Asian and African elephants.

What You Can Do

The proposals will be debated and voted on at the 12th meeting of CITES in Santiago, Chile from November 3–5, 2002. Until the final vote, it is possible to convince Botswana, Namibia South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to withdraw their proposals.

Write to the President and Ambassador of these nations via their embassies. Ask them to withdraw their CITES proposal to sell ivory. Ask them not to sell out their elephants for the profits to be gained from ivory. Say that as a tourist, you will not visit countries that sell ivory tusks.

Elephant Trade Fact Sheet

Between 1979 and 1989, a time when there was a legal ivory trade, African elephants were poached at such a rapid rate that the continent-wide population was cut from 1.3 million to approximately 600,000. The scale of poaching was so great that it threatened African economies, requiring countries to expend tremendous resources to fight poachers. Many human lives were lost in these ivory wars, both poachers and game wardens.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) tried—but failed—to control the legal ivory trade. Most ivory in trade came from poached elephants. In 1989, CITES agreed to place all populations of African elephants onto CITES Appendix I, thereby banning the international trade in elephants and their parts, including ivory. This widely supported ban halted the devastation of elephant populations and provided the mechanism by which African elephants began their slow, but promising, recovery.

Reopening Trade

In 1997, responding to repeated requests from Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, CITES transferred the African elephant populations of those countries to CITES Appendix II. In 2000, the South African population was also placed on Appendix II, meaning that, depending on the country, the export of elephant skins, tourist trinkets made from ivory and skins, and live animals from populations in these countries was now allowed. Furthermore, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa were allowed to export ivory on a one-time, experimental basis to Japan.

The Amount of Ivory Traded

In April 1999, 49.5 metric tonnes of government-stockpiled ivory from Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe were exported to Japan under tight security. (None of this ivory can be imported legally into the United States because the U.S. African Elephant Conservation Act prohibits such import.)

Once tusks arrive in Japan, they are chopped into "blanks," which are turned into signature stamps (called "hanko"), and then distributed to thousands of shops. Japanese law does not require that hanko sold in retail trade bear a mark to designate it as legal ivory. This lapse makes it possible to launder illegal ivory into the retail trade. In December 1999, 420 kilograms of worked ivory was seized in Paris, reportedly on its way from Rwanda to Japan. India has stated that some of the ivory seized since 1997 was in the form of hanko "blanks," suggesting a link between the illegal ivory trade and Japanese markets.

Poaching and Illegal Trade Remain Significant Threats

Poaching and illegal trade continue to threaten the survival of elephants in both Africa and Asia. Between January 2000 and July 2002, at least 1,063 African and 39 Asian elephants were reported to have been poached for their ivory, while 54,828 ivory pieces, 3099 ivory tusks (equal to 1,550 dead elephants), and 6.2 tons of raw ivory (equal to about 794 dead elephants) were seized.

The Impact on Asian Elephants

There are 34,000 to 51,000 Asian elephants in the wild, less than one-tenth the number of African elephants in the wild. Poaching for ivory, which is only found in male Asian elephants, is severely damaging the sex ratios of Asian elephant populations. A thriving ivory trade in Thailand is contributing to the rapid decline of elephants in that country and in neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia.

The Elephant Skin Trade

Under the 1997 decision, only Zimbabwe was allowed to export elephant skins. In June 1998, Zimbabwe sold 22 lots of dry, salted elephant hides, ears, trunks, and feet. The hides, accumulated since the 1989 ban, weighed 82.8 metric tonnes. Most of the hides were sold to companies in the United States and Japan. In the United States, elephant-hide cowboy boots are now offered by Tony Lama and Justin.

The Trade in Live Elephants

In August 1998, South African animal dealer Riccardo Ghiazza captured 30 baby elephants in Botswana and exported them to his warehouse in South Africa, where he beat them and deprived them of food and water during the "taming" process. Ghiazza hoped to sell the elephants to zoos around the world. The South African National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals discovered the elephants at Ghiazza's facility. The group filed criminal animal cruelty charges against Ghiazza and was granted court permission to seize the calves to prevent further suffering. To date, 14 of the calves have been released into South Africa's Marakele National Park, seven were exported to zoos in Europe, five are still in captivity in South Africa, and four live at a private reserve in South Africa. The case highlighted the cruel techniques used to tame wild-caught elephants for pubic display.

The Number of Hunting Trophies Traded

Each year, CITES allows the export of ivory tusks as trophies from up to 960 African elephants from eight countries. The United States is the major importer of elephant trophies; hunters have imported the tusks of more than 400 elephants annually in recent years.