Kenya Demands Total Ban on Ivory Trade
By Jeff Seldin
Washington
18 July 2009


It has been 20 years since the international community banned the sale of ivory to protect endangered animals. But Kenyan wildlife officials complain elephants are being slaughtered because of occasional exceptions.

Officials here in Kenya warn the nation's elephants are again in danger. Poachers are venturing into the country's national parks and killing them for their tusks.

Kenya's game wardens fight back to protect the herds. But the head of species and conservation management at the Kenya Wildlife Service, Patrick Omondi, says it is not enough. "Last year we lost 98 elephants to poachers and up to today, this year, we have lost up to 73 elephants. This is a big worry and all this is stimulated because there was an experiment to trade," he said.

CITES, the Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species, banned the ivory trade in 1989, but since then it has permitted countries to participate in periodic sales.

Kenyan officials charge these sales have sparked a new demand for ivory, especially in Asia. Just days ago, they announced the seizure of one million dollars worth of ivory bound for Laos.

The director of the Kenya Wildlife Service (Julius Kipngetich) worries about the impact across Africa. "Just because we have a strong law enforcement, we can't just sit and say we celebrate, we are also worried about those countries that don't have strong law enforcement, because any wildlife anywhere is a loss to us collectively as a planet," he said.

Elephant ivory is lucrative, selling for three-thousand-dollars per kilogram on the black market. And Kenyan officials warn with prices like that, more people will be tempted to poach, unless the ban on the ivory trade is made permanent.

Typical stupid reaction from politicians who were instrumental in eliminating the vast herds of elephants in that country!

They never learn, do they?

Hey Kenya
Fix your own government sanctioned poaching problem before you try to educate the rest of the world on how to protect the elephant. You started the war on the herds the day you stopped hunting, the cash it created, and the presence of law and authority ( PH and game scouts) in the remote areas you have continued to let poachers thrive in. Kenya should be ashamed to attend CITIES , much less try to be a voice on how to go forward. To hell with Kenya!

quote:

Hey Kenya
Fix your own government sanctioned poaching problem before you try to educate the rest of the world on how to protect the elephant. You started the war on the herds the day you stopped hunting, the cash it created, and the presence of law and authority ( PH and game scouts) in the remote areas you have continued to let poachers thrive in. Kenya should be ashamed to attend CITIES , much less try to be a voice on how to go forward. To hell with Kenya!

Yes yes yes

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke...=1144019636&cid=532&


Video of speech

Elephant ivory is lucrative, selling for three-thousand-dollars per kilogram on the black market.

Wow! I got some Ivory to sell!

The legal ivory trade must be driving down the Kenyan Gov't black market prices.

"Kenya Demands Total Ban on Ivory Trade"


Wherever you find a Kenyan in politics you'll find someone trying to run the entire world in accord with his own personal vision of utopia.

Just sayin'

Dave Fulson: +3 !!!!!!!!

Kenya "demands"??? Kenya demands??? "Kenya demands". I'm sorry. Those two words just shouldn't be used together.

Old Handgunner,

Sounds like you're "just sayin'" about "The One".

jpj3

quote:

Originally posted by jpj3:
Old Handgunner,

Sounds like you're "just sayin'" about "The One".

jpj3

Me?? That would violate my personal rule to never discuss anyone else's religious beliefs.

Dave Fulson: +4 !!!!!!!!


OldHandgunHunter: +2 !!!!!!!!

The prices we are hearing here are wildly expanded( lieing through there teeth) yes the prices are up but closer to 50 kilo in mukoki a major poaching area a few mils from tsavo. Kenya demanding anything is a joke the third most corrupt country in africa.They took 10,000,000 from tree huggers to ban hunting. then complain when poaching increases and the goverment does nothing. The reason there making demands is they dont like the media looking to closely. they can't stand the truth in the light of day.