Global Ideas

The Ivory – even 25 years after the worldwide ban of fired up he is poaching

The international trading Ivory in 1989, banned, so why take the poaching in the past few years dramatically? The European trade in elephant tusks could be the entire species in danger.

As the international trading Ivory in 1989, was banned, seemed to be the extinction of the African elephant turned away. After a decade of the porpoise slaughter, in which the number of animals in the world halved had recovered populations.

But even 25 years later there is still a thriving Ivory and the European Union is one of its main actors — through the Export of the coveted material in the growing Asian market.
In view of the renewed strong increase in poaching, the now every year 30,000 African elephants to fall victim to say on animal rights, the undermining of the prohibition and befeuere the illegal trade.

“Any commercial market for ivory provides the possibility of illegal trade, because it is difficult to control whether a piece is legal or not,” says Will Travers, President of the animal rights organization
Born Free. “And any Form of trade encourages poachers. The say to himself: ‘If there is a market, then we will try to serve him.’”

Too many loopholes

Loopholes in the ban are part of the problem, say conservationists. According to cites (CITES) is the international trade in ivory since 1989 prohibited, but the sale in Germany is still allowed.
And there are other exceptions: ivory is allowed as a “personal Haven” for non-commercial purposes across borders to be brought, among other things, Elfenbeinstoßzähne, the hunters as trophies of big game hunts to bring home.

Also legal is the sale of antique and “Pre-Convention ivory” — so of ivory, which originates from the time before African elephants in 1976 by CITES as threatened were classified. The trade in mammoth ivory remains allowed.

Antique ivory can according to the cites is still legally be traded.

Elena Tennigkeit, owner of the German company Ox-Gallstone GmbH, ivory and other raw materials, told DW, you buy Elefantenstoßzähne from a private collection and auctions — for example, old hunting trophies, which are now a Generation has inherited, not a dream would, on the wall to hang. “No one in Europe wants more ivory,” she says. “The people don’t like it.”

In large Parts of Asia, however, it is a sought-after luxury good and is available as “white Gold” high in the course. Tennigkeit says, Europe’s old ivory ceiling, a limited, elitist and demand in Asia, which would otherwise by gewildertes ivory satisfied. “If Europe is the ivory, which it has destroyed, is that the elephants do not help,” she says.

Ripple effect

Some animal rights activists see it differently. The Elfenbeinvorräte to destroy, as there are countries such as Kenya, the United States and China since 1989 have done, sends a clear message that it is unacceptable, ivory to buy.

And such signals are important. Travers says that the experiences lately have shown that the legal ivory trade, the poaching is not lowered, but instead the message that ivory is still a very interesting market.

Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa had successfully used the Gefährdungsstatus their elephant populations to downgrade, what is the way for the one-time sale of Elfenbeinreserven 1999 and 2008 freimachte. As a result, took the poaching.

Blutelfenbein

After the sale of African ivory to China in 2008, there were annually between 30,000 and 50,000 elephants were killed. Alone, Tanzania lost between 2009 and the end of 2014, on average, more than 1000 elephants per month.

Elephant skull from the poachers Tusks removed, in the near Voi, Taita-Taveta district, Kenya

“As we predicted, the demand grows and has a clear Signal sent that the Ivory is going on, and still attractive,” says Travers. “I think you can only come to the conclusion that these sales were the catalyst for the massive escalation of poaching were, up to that point pretty well stopped.”

In addition, activists such as Daniela Freyer of the Munich-based environmental organisation
Pro Wildlife is concerned that illegal gewildertes ivory through the legal trade is “washed” could be. “No one can really tell how old the ivory is,” said Freyer, compared to DW.
Before-agreement-ivory only with a Altersbescheinigung be exported and Elfenbeinhändlering Tennigkeit insists that these to get a complex and expensive process, which is hardly room for doubt as to the origin of the ivory.

However, Freyer argued that certificates can be forged. The other fear is that even real certificates after the delivery of the legal ivory manipulated and can be used again, to the illegal ivory import.

Learn from mistakes

Animal rights activists like Travers and Freyer, say, you have from the Experiment with the “unique Sales” is learned and that it re-winds are blowing hard against the Ivory durchzugreifen.

Hong Kong, a hub in the international Ivory, in January announced that it is In the import and Export of ivory ban and the innländischen market gradually close will. This happened shortly after a similar joint obligations of the United States and China in the past year. China is the largest end-consumer of ivory and the USA according to some estimates the second largest.

Burning of ivory in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, where President Nguesso, the entire inventory of nearly five tonnes of illegal ivory were lit

But the world’s largest exporter of Pre-Convention ivory, the European Union, is lagging behind.

“The EU must send a political Signal to send,” says Freyer. “More and more countries to destroy their Elfenbeinvorräte and prohibit the innländischen trade and because one misses the voice of the EU in these international agreements. The EU leads your Ivory will just continue.”

Public Pressure

France, Germany, great Britain, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands have the Export of Pre-Convention-elephant tusks have already been banned and other EU member States will be invited to do the same.
But because it is still possible, of ivory within the EU, to move, to find ivory from countries with an export ban still make its way onto the international market. Therefore, argue many, that restrictions on the EU-level are necessary.

The European Commission says that it had no evidence that the legal trade in ancient Elfenbeingegenständen in the EU is used in the will, to the illegal ivory to be “laundered.” But a spokesman, Enrico Brivio told DW that in March a new EU action plan against illegal trade in wild animals and plants, presented the large amount of Pre-Convention ivory from Europe to be exported “in depth look”.

“We want to make sure that this is not the demand for ivory in Asia is fueling, the last decade has grown considerably,” said Brivio.
Whether the Plan the way for a prohibition of remaining ivory trade in Europe will pave remains to be seen. But Travers, in 1989, a truckload full of signed petitions to the meeting brought the international trade ban in motion, said, that got Elefantenfreunde more influence than ever.

“With the development of Social media today we can all engage and inform us. We can have our members of Parliament contact, we can with a push of a button project initiatives to support — this is ground-breaking in the entire democratization of this process.”