On the second day of the annual meeting of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) members have voted not to overturn a ban on the sale of ivory on the open market.

The trade of ivory has been banned since 1989 and has only been lifted twice in the interviening years to allow for one-off sales  of stockpiled ivory.  The 1989 decision was reached after elephant populations world-wide dwindled to dangerously low numbers. The result was several preservation initiatives, especially in African nations.

Recently, African nations such as Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia have been lobbying in support of re-opening the trade in hopes of gaining revenue. As a result of the preservations efforts, elephant populations have grown and some countries are claiming they have ivory stockpiles resulting from natural mortalities in these populations.  They claim that deaths resulting from preservation practices yield ivory free from the stigma of poaching and the country should be able to profit from this resource, just like any other natural resource.

Conservationists have been vocal in their opposition to the re-opening of ivory trade, claiming that this would serve to increase incidents of poaching and damage already unstable elephant populations, rejecting the claims that elephants are out of danger when it comes to volume.

This decision has been much anticipated with the media reporting on the issue as far back as December.

Animal activists along with conservationists are very pleased with CITES’ recent decision; “This is a real victory for elephants,” said Jason Bell-Leask, director of Southern African operations with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw).   The groups concern is that any sale of ivory (including the one-off sales) can allow for irresponsibly sourced ivory can be imbedded in the stock.  Tests about the origin of the ivory on the last sales have been inconclusive, however the accusations against corrupt officials taking bribes and profiting from the illegally sourced ivory are rampant.

Another organisation that has been most vocal on the problems surrounding ivory trade-legal or not-is “Traffic”.  Traffic’s role is to monitor illegal wildlife trade and provide information to those making decisions surrounding trade policies.  They claim that the stockpiles are made up of almost half of ivory from an unknown source, raising questions about how much poaching and illegal trading is actually taking place.

This decision will hopefully bring attention to the  debate surrounding animals product sales in an unregulated sector.

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