Kissing cats and kicking elephants

[Guest guest]

We purr over cats while allowing elephants to die

 

The animal-loving British are refusing to support a ban on ivory sales

 

-

- Barbara Ellen <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/barbaraellen>

- The Observer <http://observer.guardian.co.uk/>, Sunday 21 March 2010

 

- Article

history<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/21/barbara-ellen-animal\

-cruelty#history-link-box>

 

I'll try to keep this as un-gory as possible for animal-loving readers.

Perhaps you are reading this while patting your dog, stroking your cat, or

changing the straw for your child's hamster. I really wouldn't want to spoil

such beautiful quintessentially British moments. We all know that Britain

prides itself on being a " nation of animal lovers " .

 

However, facts are facts, and tomorrow in Doha, Qatar, at the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), a proposal from Kenya for

a 20-year ban on ivory sales is likely to fail because key members of the EU

are refusing to support it. One of them is Britain.

 

Britain is going with the Cites stance that " one-off sales of stockpiled

ivory " help fund conservation, and reduce poaching by satisfying demand.

Which completely ignores the new

report<http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/scientists-urge-treaty-panel-reject-ivory-\

sale-tanzania-zambia.html>from

a 27-strong team of conservationists and scientists saying that

one-off

sales have not delivered on conservation, have increased the demand for

ivory in far eastern countries such as Japan and China, and therefore

encourage poaching.

 

Tearing oneself away from the blizzard of " unsubstantiated allegations, blah

blah " of rampant horse-fixing and vote-gathering at Cites, one also reads

that our own Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is

pondering whether to support a move for even *less* protection for Tanzanian

and Zambian elephants. This decision will take them, ooh, at least six

years. All this is going on in your name. Still feeling those " nation of

animal-lovers " warm fuzzies?

 

Strange how quickly this " animal-lovers " malarkey flies out of the window

when big money or politics comes into it. A case of, everyone loves

elephants, but when it gets a bit sticky with international sanctions and

world trade, or means getting on the wrong side of highly lucrative

expanding far eastern markets, it's: " So long, Dumbo! " In fairness, at

Cites, Britain did back other conservation proposals (ie a failed one for

bluefin tuna), but did they seriously believe that this stance on ivory

sales would have our full public support?

 

Probably not, but maybe they are banking on the bizarre loophole in British

attitudes to animals <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/animals>. Our

quasi-schizophrenic habit of cherry-picking when to care, and when not to

give much of a stuff. After all, we are the nation who sobbed our hearts out

at Rolf Harris's sick puppies on *Animal Hospital*, even as, year on year,

RSPCA figures for animal cruelty were rising. Who occasionally get angry

about factory farming, but much angrier when chickens don't cost one old

farthing in the supermarket. And now whose government refuses to oppose

ivory sales, even though it is bizarre that ivory could still be judged a

" material " – would you put an ornament made of dogs' teeth on your

mantelpiece?

 

The government letting this opportunity pass by is a scandal, but surely the

blame spreads far wider to public apathy. Maybe it is time to take a stand.

Are we going to carry on being less a nation of animal lovers than a giant

cultural " petting zoo " ? As in, sure, we love animals, but everything's got

to be all fluffy and easy and nice, and occasionally we'll get out the *Animal

Hospital* DVDs and weep with Rolf over sick gerbils.

 

Or are we going to be the kind who react with outrage and action when our

views are not represented in arenas such as Cites, who are prepared to make

trouble, sign petitions, pester EU reps? Who refuse to support legislation

which experts believe encourages the poaching of fast-dwindling numbers of

elephants – where, incidentally, the common practice is to exploit the

elephants' strong family bonds, shooting the babies first, in order to lure

in the adults. Maybe it is time for British people to start living up to our

billing – if we really are this " nation of animal lovers " , why aren't they

hearing us roar?

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/21/barbara-ellen-animal-cruelty