On CITES

[Guest guest]

*http://www.bornfree.org.uk/blog/?p=143*<http://www.bornfree.org.uk/blog/?p=143>

*Some people wonder if CITES is worth it. All the efforts, all the meetings,

all the talking, all the costs. My answer is simple. Perfection is the enemy

of the good. What would the natural world look like without the Convention?

I think things would be worse: unfettered ivory trade, massive deforestation

and timber sales, unregulated commercialization of tiger bones and bear

gallbladders and sea turtle shells, a live animal trade run amok.*

 

*That’s why I am committed to CITES, to making the Convention more

effective, to helping countries use CITES to bring greater protection to

species under threat. And this is especially true for developing countries

that need assistance the most to properly protect their indigenous animals

and plants.*

 

*Born Free has been part of CITES for two decades now – in our own right and

as part of the Species Survival Network. I hope that readers will appreciate

our efforts and will do what they can to support our continued involvement.

We are the voice for the animals in a world increasingly dominated by human

noise.*

 

*Blogging off,*

 

*Will Travers*

 

 

On 7/16/09, Jigs Gaton <herojig wrote:

>

>

>

> I just love this reporting (sic). CITIES has banned trading, but countries

> do little to enforce. Why should they when CITIES itself sells ivory?!?

> Governments and private businesses are just trying to keep up and compete

> with CITIES. True, CITIES just sells dead tuskers bones, after they have

> died a ³natural death,² but how does that support a ban on ivory? It

> doesn't, CITIES sales just promote ivory in the marketplace. Until the

> legal

> ivory trade stops, there is no hope of stopping an illegal one, and these

> reports are meaningless. In fact, where does smuggler¹s captured ivory go?

> That¹s right, back to CITIES or other stockpiles, for sale later legally.

> So instead of focusing on the tons of ivory sold legally, it seems that we

> are more concerned about the kilograms being sold illegally. Now there¹s a

> real crime.

> Jigs in Nepal

>

> On 7/15/09 9:54 PM, " AZAM SIDDIQUI " <azam24x7<azam24x7%40gmail.com>>

> wrote:

>

> > Great job Kenyan authorities as always.

> >

> > It seems Kenya is fighting a lonely battle combating this wildlife

> > terrorism in the whole of African continent.

> >

> > Where are all the supporters of 'Culling', and that CITES?

> > Hang your heads in shame all those who lobbied hard to get wildlife

> > auctioned with the bloody hope of ending 'illegal ivory trade'.

> >

> > One can only wonder as to how many plane loads and ship loads of

> > ivory/ horns etc have already reached the destination safe.

> >

> > Azam

> >

> >

> http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jEF6-9TDtyETWGziiZ8rMaTTv0cg

> > D99EB85G0

> >

> > Kenya seizes ivory, rhino horn heading to Asia

> >

> > By TOM ODULA ­ 23 hours ago

> > NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ‹ Kenya seized more than 300 kilograms (660

> > pounds) of illegal ivory and black rhinoceros horn ‹ some of it still

> > bloody ‹ on a cargo plane headed to Asia on Tuesday, wildlife

> > officials said.

> > The blood on some of the 16 elephant tusks and two rhino horns

> > suggested the animals had been killed recently, said Patrick Omondi of

> > the biodiversity and research division of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

> > The contraband was hidden in wooden boxes shaped like coffins.

> > The flight originated in Mozambique and stopped in Nairobi en route to

> > Thailand and finally Laos. It was not clear where the items came from;

> > Omondi said they could have been smuggled into Mozambique from

> > Tanzania or South Africa.

> > Poaching elephants and black rhinos is illegal. The Convention on

> > International Trade in Endangered Species banned trade in ivory in

> > 1989 after a wholesale slaughter of African elephants by poachers in

> > the 1970s and 1980s.

> > But some countries have done little to enforce the ban.

> > The black rhino is only found in eastern and southern Africa.

> > Rampant poaching decimated the black rhino population from a high of

> > 65,000 across Africa in the 1970s. Southern Africa now has a

> > population of 3,600 black rhinos.

>

>