Wildlife agency fights for ivory trade moratorium

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2007

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) — An international animal welfare body Wednesday intensified its campaign for a 20-year moratorium on trade in ivory ahead of a crucial meeting on the issue next month.

The Convention on the International Trade in Endagered Species (CITES) in The Hague in June is to vote on rules on the trade of elephants, whales, tigers and sharks.

"At the meeting we will work to improve the enforcement of regulation on import and export of ivory and other animal products," International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) director in Southern Africa, Jason Bell, told journalists in Johannesburg.

Bell said Kenya and Mali had already submitted to the UN-backed convention proposals for a moratorium on all trade in raw or worked ivory, except for non-commercial...