Google – AFP, 12 February 2014
 |
File
picture shows an ivory Buddha carving on display at an ivory shop in
Beijing (AFP/File,
Wang Zhao)
|
Washington
— The United States banned the domestic trade of elephant ivory as part of a
new drive to help African countries stem the rising threat to wildlife from
poachers.
The White
House administrative action prohibits all commercial imports of African
elephant ivory, including antiques, and all commercial exports, -- except for
bona fide antiques and certain other items.
The
outlawed ivory trade is mostly fueled by demand in Asia and the Middle East,
where elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns are used in traditional medicine and
to make ornaments.
Poaching
has risen sharply in Africa in recent years where, besides targeting rhinos,
gangs have slaughtered whole herds of elephants for their tusks.
 |
File
picture shows a Kenya Wildlife Services
(KWS) ranger standing guard over an
ivory
haul seized as it transited through Jomo
Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi
(AFP/File,
Tony Karumba)
|
It said
federal departments and agencies would immediately take actions to, among other
things, clarify what constitutes an antique.
"To
qualify as an antique, an item must be more than 100 years old and meet other
requirements under the Endangered Species Act."
"The
onus will now fall on the importer, exporter, or seller to demonstrate that an
item meets these criteria."
Other
measures include limiting to two the number of African elephant sport-hunted
trophies that can be imported by an individual each year.
The
crackdown on ivory is a key aspect of a new national strategy for combating
wildlife trafficking, also unveiled Tuesday, that has been in the works for
some time.
During a
trip to Tanzania last year, President Barack Obama signed an executive order
for a $10 million program to reduce the practice in Africa.
That led to
the setting up of a task force to develop the strategy to crack down on the
lucrative trade -- estimated to be worth between $7 and $10 billion a year.
"The
United States will continue to lead global efforts to protect the world's
iconic animals and preserve our planet's natural beauty for future
generations," the White House said.
Senior
administration officials said the United States is one of the world's largest
markets for wildlife products, both legal and illegal.
"Much
of the trafficking in ivory and other wildlife products either passes through
or ends up in the United States and so we are committed to putting an end to
the illegal trade in elephant ivory and also other wildlife products," one
official told reporters on a conference all.
Another
said that, under the ban, it would be legal to own items made from ivory and
gift these to your children or children -- but it would not be legal to sell
them.
 |
Three
tonnes of illegal ivory are displayed
on February 6, 2014 in front of the
Eiffel
tower in Paris (AFP/File, Bertrand Guay)
|
"We
are facing a situation where rhino horn is worth more than its weight in gold.
Elephant ivory is going for as much as $1,500 a pound," the official said.
"So we
believe that an outright ban on domestic trade in ivory and rhino horn is
appropriate because it will help us be more effective in law enforcement and it
will demonstrate a US leadership worldwide."
"We
can't ask other consumer nations to crack down on their domestic trade and
markets unless we're prepared to the same here at home."
The
official said there are less than half a million elephants on the African
continent today and "estimates are that we are losing as many as 35,000
elephants per year."
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