The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is calling on travellers across the UK to give up unwanted ivory souvenirs to help protect the world's remaining elephants. All ivory donated during IFAW's nationwide ‘amnesty' will be used to create a
Many holidaymakers thoughtlessly buy ivory souvenirs which are openly on sale in many resorts, and are among the endangered species items most commonly seized by Customs. Most tourists buy ivory without realising that it is illegal to bring it back into the UK (the ivory trade has been banned since 1989) - or that the ivory has probably come from recently poached elephants.
The IFAW memorial will be unveiled at a high profile public event in 2004 just before an important meeting of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which has agreed to allow the sale of 60 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to Japan.
The IFAW and many other conservation organisations believe such sales could send a lethal green light to poachers, as it is impossible to tell the difference between legal and poached ivory once it is on the market. Worryingly, with a rapidly growing middle class in China, the potential market for ivory in the Far East is enormous. Reports from Africa reveal that poaching has already risen since last year's decision to allow the sales in principle.
"The bottom line is that every ivory object has involved the death of an elephant," says Jenny Hawley, IFAW's Wildlife Trade campaigner. "The talk about the ivory sales has already led to increased poaching and seizures as illegal ivory traders gear up to get back into the market. Africa lost half of its elephants to poaching in the 1980s and we cannot allow that to happen again. We are asking people to give up their ivory as a symbolic gesture to help protect elephants, and also to sign our petition. Together, these will send a strong message to the government to do all it can to prevent the re-opening of the ivory trade at the next CITES meeting."
People wishing to donate ivory to the appeal should send an email to
or write to Ivory Amnesty, IFAW, 87-90 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7UD, www.ifaw.org
