Your tuna for our elephants, Africa offers EU
March 05 2010 at 02:39PM



Brussels - Support protection of our elephants and we'll help you protect your bluefin tuna, 23 African countries told the European Union on Friday.

By contrast, if the EU does not back their case, the African countries threaten to oppose Europe's proposal to ban trade in the giant fish.

A nine-year ban on ivory sales was agreed in 2007 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), but two African nations, Tanzania and Zambia, want to reclassify their elephant populations as a first step to resuming the trade, a leaked letter from the 23 countries says.

The group of African countries, which includes Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria, is concerned that most EU countries support Tanzania's and Zambia's attempts to restart the ivory trade, the letter says.

EU ambassadors met on Friday to finalise the bloc's position at the next Cites meeting, which starts on March 13.

The diplomats are expected to confirm support for an endangered listing for the Atlantic bluefin, which would effectively ban trade in the endangered fish. Bluefin tuna can fetch up to $100 000 (R750 000) each at market.

"Please do not force our collective hand to cast our 23 votes against the EU on any of the issues it is supporting such as, for example, the high-profile proposed ban on bluefin tuna," said the letter.

After lengthy talks on Friday morning on bluefin tuna, ivory and polar bears, the bloc could struggle to reach a unified position by March 13.

Poachers in many central and west African countries continue to kill elephants for their ivory, which is used for trinkets and also as an aphrodisiac in countries such as China.

The 23 African countries argue that the legal ivory trade fuels and provides cover for unlawful ivory sales. - Reuters

these things are often more about politics than the wildlife ...translation is we don't care about the tuna , but if you vote for our elephants (which you don't care about) we will vote for your tuna ...

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
these things are often more about politics than the wildlife ...translation is we don't care about the tuna , but if you vote for our elephants (which you don't care about) we will vote for your tuna ...

How true, in the 1997 CITES meetings when the first major bid by the southern countries was made to legally trade ivory, Kenya and India opposed it. They made deals with some whaling countries (Normay and Japan I believe) - back Kenya and India's anti-trade bid and they would vote in favour of whaling. Games...

I wonder if the southern countries will ever try to promote a 'coup' and form a serious oppostion as a coaliton group?

I am bit uninformed on these ranglings these days due to other study committiments, but I love this stuff!

Ivory is used as an aphrodisiac What do they do? lick the tusks?. tell them about little blue pills and help to save the elephants and rhinos