Elephants: Is EU Giving Green Light for New Massacres?

MONTREUX, Switzerland, February 17, 2010 - Despite overwhelming opposition from the European Parliament
against the resumption of elephant ivory trade, the European Commission now
looks increasingly likely to support overturning the 1989 global ban at the
15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), 13th - 25th March in
Doha. On 10th February, the Parliament adopted a strongly-worded Resolution (
www.presseportal.ch/go2/franzweber1 ) calling on the EU, negotiating
as a bloc at CITES, not to support ivory trade resumption and to respect the
nine-year ivory moratorium agreement, reached at the 14th CITES meeting in
The Hague in 2007.

The Commission and EU member states are now highly likely to
ignore Parliament and support moves by Tanzania and Zambia to resume ivory
trade. "This is really the last call for elephants in Africa. The devastating
poaching of the 1980s which was first controlled through CITES is now so
prevalent again that the African elephant is all but extinct in some
countries where once they roamed," says Bourama Niagate, Director of Parks
and Natural Reserves in Mali, co-chair of the 23-government African Elephant
Coalition.

"The EU should demonstrate again the leadership it showed
when, under the German EU Presidency in 2007, it brokered an eleventh-hour
deal on a nine-year ivory moratorium at the last CITES negotiations. It is
incomprehensible that the EU is even considering resuming ivory trade. After
years of respite, it now gives the green light for poachers to butcher
elephants" said Vera Weber, Director of the Fondation Franz Weber. "We would
urge the Commission to change its position before it is too late for the
African elephant," she added.

Vera Weber, FONDATION FRANZ WEBER, 1820 Montreux, Switzerland,
tel +41-21-964-24-24, veraweber@ffw.ch - www.ffw.ch

Vera Weber, FONDATION FRANZ WEBER, 1820 Montreux, Switzerland,
tel +41-21-964-24-24, veraweber at ffw.ch