CITES 2007 Fw: elephants

[Guest guest]

Email from Elke Riesterer re elephants and her participation in CITES 2007 :

 

Glad Shirley wrote a bit what had been happening at the conference. To add to

is the compromise between the African states on ivory sale and conservation of

the species. It was a hard fight with sleepless nights especially for some of

the delegates and diplomats. The elephant basically dominated the conference.

 

It was not till the last night of the gathering of the parties that the

compromise of a nine year

moratorium of any further ivory sale was presented. Before this, a one-time sale

of anywhere from 100 till 200 tons of stock pilled ivory from southern African

nations- which is going to be determined by the

secretariat- will take place. Only Japan was accepted as the big buyer, China

tried.

I wish we would take ivory as a commodity of the table all together.

 

How can the laws be made airtight? I can't see the illegal ivory smuggling to

end in the near

future......countless elephants will die. In brief summery I truly echo the

sentiments

Shirley expressed in her letter on the emphasis of this conference.

 

Friendly Rumbles

Elke

 

>>

> >> -

> >> Shirley McGreal

> >> AAPN List

> >> Saturday, June 23, 2007 5:36 PM

> >> [!!] Lorises added to Appendix I

> of

> >> CITES --- and more about CITES 2007!

> >>

> >>

> >> The Conference of the Parties to the Convention

> on

> >> International

> >> Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was held in

> the

> >> Netherlands from

> >> 2-16 June 2007.

> >>

> >> Representative of over 170 party nations to the

> >> treaty attended, as

> >> well as scores of observers coming from the

> safari

> >> and ivory lobbies,

> >> the pro-whaling crowd, and animal protection

> groups,

> >> including IPPL.

> >>

> >> A main goal of the animal groups was to ensure

> that

> >> the Cambodian

> >> proposal to upgrade the slow loris (a small

> >> nocturnal primate found

> >> in several Asian nations) to Appendix I, the most

> >> protected category

> >> in the treaty, was approved. Oddly WWF/TRAFFIC

> were

> >> opposed. However,

> >> hard work by governments and NGOs ensured that

> the

> >> proposal was

> >> passed. NGOs can't vote but can and do influence

> >> votes. Slow lorises

> >> can no longer be commercially traded

> >> internationally.

> >>

> >> Some awful things happened. With the approval of

> the

> >> US and every

> >> nation but Israel, a South African request for

> >> approval of the

> >> sport-hunting of 5 white rhino a year was passed

> -

> >> there are less

> >> than 4,000 of this species in the world. What

> kind

> >> of pervert would

> >> want to shoot one?

> >>

> >> There were several primate " side-events. "

> Stichting

> >> AAP made a

> >> presentation on the plight of the Barbary

> macaques

> >> and several groups

> >> are working with North African groups to develop

> a

> >> proposal to

> >> upgrade this species to Appendix I at the next

> CITES

> >> conference to be

> >> held in Qatar in two years. There was a

> presentation

> >> about orangutans

> >> and another about the apes and one about the

> >> bushmeat trade. The cost

> >> of living was so high in the Netherlands that

> anyone

> >> running a

> >> side-event could assure a large crowd by offering

> >> sandwiches and juice!

> >>

> >> Sadly the emphasis of CITES is turning away from

> >> animals to

> >> " livelihoods " of the rural poor. Unfortunately

> the

> >> animal trade

> >> provides only nickels and dimes to the rural

> >> catchers of wildlife -

> >> the profits go into the bank accounts of the

> brokers

> >> and big

> >> exporters and importers. A peasant may receive $5

> >> for a monkey that

> >> will sell for thousands of dollars over here or

> in

> >> Europe or Japan.

> >> The trade provides a " deathlihood " to thousands

> of

> >> animals who suffer

> >> all along the trade chain of death and misery.

> >>

> >> One pleasant event was a weekend excursion to the

> >> Stichting AAP

> >> sanctuary in Almere. The sanctuary is home to

> large

> >> numbers of

> >> macaques and holds many chimpanzees who are

> veterans

> >> of the HIV

> >> experiments at the Biomedical Primate Research

> >> Center. They have

> >> wonderful enclosures and receive special care.

> >>

> >> Shirley McGreal

> >>

> >> Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman

> >> International Primate Protection League

> >> POB 766

> >> Summerville SC 29484, USA

> >> Ph. 843-871-2280: Fax: 843-871-7988: www.ippl.org

> >>

> >> " Humans think they are smarter than dolphins

> because

> >> we build cars and buildings and start wars

> etc...and

> >> all that dolphins do is swim in the water, eat

> fish

> >> and play around. Dolphins believe that they are

> >> smarter for exactly the same reasons. "

> >> --Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

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> >> For more information on Asian animal issues,

> please