African Poaching Takes Toll : Citing Elephant Slaughter, U.S. Asks Ivory Trade Halt

In an effort to halt the slaughter of the African elephant, the United States on Thursday called for an end to the international ivory trade, hoping to shut down a profitable market that has fueled a spate of illegal poaching.

The proposal, announced by Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr., was praised by wildlife groups, who fear that the animal will be wiped out by poachers seeking its tusks. Elephant populations have declined from 1.5 million to as little as 400,000 in the last decade, according to official estimates.

While commerce in ivory is strictly regulated by international treaty, U.S. officials believe that legal trade makes possible the existence of a vast black market in which shipments are fraudulently labeled as obtained from legal sources.

The U.S. plan, to be submitted for consideration at international conferences this summer, would prohibit all importations of commercial ivory by members of the 101-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

The plan stops short of officially declaring the African elephant to be endangered, a designation sought by environmental groups because it also would ban importation into the United States of ivory taken during authorized trophy hunts. The Fish and Wildlife Service continues to study whether such a designation would be appropriate.

A top official at the Humane Society of the United States said that the African elephant is “clearly endangered in a significant part of its range.” But the official, Susan Lieberman, described the U.S. call for an end to the ivory trade as “very significant” for the effect it could have on the depleted species.

The U.S. plan mirrors proposals submitted this week by both Kenya and Tanzania, which have exhibited a new concern about protecting their threatened elephant populations. But it is likely to be opposed by such nations as Zimbabwe, whose elephant populations have not greatly been depleted, and by Japan, which imports about 70% of the world’s ivory.

The proposals could be approved by a two-thirds vote of the member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The group plans to gather in Botswana for a planning session in July and then to meet formally in October in Lausanne, Switzerland. Member nations can take formal exception to any rule change, however, and thus could create loopholes exempting themselves from the ivory ban.

Under a congressional mandate, the Fish and Wildlife Service last year began to ban ivory importations from nations that did not take adequate steps to safeguard their elephant populations.

The decision by Interior and the departments of State and Commerce to take additional steps this week represents a growing belief that the allure of the ivory market provides poachers with an incentive that even the most conscientious nations find hard to combat.

The United States is a major importer of African ivory, purchasing between 10% and 12% of the continent’s annual exports. Most of its imports come from Hong Kong, the world’s principal dealer and importer of ivory.

Last year, for example, the United States imported more than 2,000 shipments of ivory, valued at $32.2 million, and an additional 112 hunting trophies, according to the Interior Department.

Kenyan Tourism and Wildlife Minister Katana Ngala, announcing the Kenyan proposal for ending the elephant trade, said, “I believe that a complete international ban on any trade in elephant products is the most practical way forward at present,” Reuters news agency reported Thursday from Nairobi.

Last year, Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi ordered game wardens to shoot poachers.

Richard Leakey, Kenya’s wildlife director who has vowed to eliminate poaching, said Thursday that 16 poachers had been killed since January and three or four game wardens have died, Reuters reported.

“It is my hope that within the next few weeks the press will not ask permission to film dead elephants but dead poachers,” Leakey added.