South Africa Ivory Auction
Published November 7th, 2008
About 47 metric tons of ivory auctioned for about 6.7 million U.S. dollars in aid of South Africa’s conservation efforts, South Africa National Parks said on Thursday.
The sale, approved by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), took place in Pretoria.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) criticised the sales as irresponsible, saying they would encourage poaching that has cut elephant populations drastically.
“By permitting legal trade in ivory, we are only encouraging the laundering of stocks by poachers, thereby increasing illegal hunting activities,” IFAW elephants programme director Michael Wamithi said in a statement.
