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Posted: 1st November 2016

Open letter calls for action on ivory trade
Elephant
The letter calls on ministers to
close all remaining legal loopholes that facilitate the laundering of illegal ivory.
Government urged to close all remaining legal loopholes

Some 100 conservationists and elephant experts have signed an open letter calling on the Government to take action against the illegal ivory trade.

The campaign, led by former foreign secretary Lord Hague, calls on environment secretary Boris Johnson and environment secretary Andrea Leadsom to take immediate measures to enhance the protection and survival of wild elephants.

Building on steps that have already been taken, the letter calls on ministers to:

  • close all remaining legal loopholes that facilitate the laundering of illegal ivory
     
  • provide additional resources to bring enhanced security to human communities that live alongside wild elephants
     
  • Increase efforts to disrupt the supply route used by criminals which ship ivory and other wildlife products from source countries to overseas markets
     
  • Support demand reduction strategies in destination countries to help ensure all citizens are aware of the lethal consequences of buying ivory

“The Government’s 2015 Manifesto commitment, to “continue to lead the world in stopping the poaching that kills thousands of elephants each year” and “press for a total ban on ivory sales” could not be clearer,” the authors write. “Now is the time to take further resolute action and, working with international partners, non-government organisations, and reflecting the overwhelming wishes of the British people, it is time to turn that promise into reality.”

The letter reminds ministers how, while she was Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher led international efforts that resulted in a global ban.

“It is time for the Government to take a global leadership position once more and help secure a long-term future for wild elephants and their natural habitats, while at the same time supporting local communities who live alongside these extraordinary and irreplaceable creatures,” they continue.

“We hope that the United Kingdom’s position with regard to our future elephant conservation strategy will be made abundantly clear at the forthcoming Illegal Wildlife Trade meeting to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the 17-19th November, and that the measures we have set out in this Open Letter will be enacted as a matter of the utmost priority."

Among those who signed the letter are Will Travers, president of the Born Free Foundation, Jeremy Cooper, CEO, RSPCA UK, and Jonathan Baillie of the Zoological Society of London.

Actor John Cleese, fashion designer Elizabeth Emanuel, and presenter Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall are also amongst the high profile signatories.




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