Portsmouth South MP, Mike Hancock joins fight
to save elephants
23.10.02
Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock has given his support
to efforts to save elephants from extinction when
he helped launch an international campaign to stop
the ivory trade.
An event at the House of Commons, held by the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), exposed the plight
of our largest land mammal. Experts fear the elephant
could be extinct within 20 years in many countries
unless governments take firm action to ban the trade
in elephant tusks.
Mr Hancock said: “I am delighted to help IFAW
highlight how important it is that we safeguard the
future of this ancient, highly intelligent and much-loved
animal. Elephants are already threatened on many fronts
– by poaching both for ivory and bushmeat, habitat
loss, and conflict with ever-growing human populations.
Some countries now want to sell ivory to be made into
trinkets for foreign tourists. Any relaxation of the
ivory trade ban could be disastrous.”
A recent MORI poll commissioned by IFAW showed that
93% of the British public want the government to take
firm action to protect elephants. IFAW’s event
came just three weeks before the United Nation's CITES
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)
meets in Santiago, Chile. CITES member states meet
every two years to decide on the protection status
of endangered species.
Member countries, including the UK, will vote on
a controversial proposal by five southern African
countries to sell off their ivory stockpiles. Previous
legal sales of this kind have opened up a window of
opportunity for poaching and illegal trade in ivory.
Once on the market, there is no way of telling whether
a tusk comes from a legal or illegal source.
Phyllis Campbell-McRae, UK director of IFAW, said:
“The government must stay in step with public
opinion. The vast majority of us have expressed a
clear understanding of the threats faced by elephants
and the importance of protecting them for the future.”
World famous palaeontologist and conservationist
Dr Richard Leakey, who is backing the IFAW campaign,
said: “I have personally seen the devastation
caused by elephant poaching. Kenya lost 80% of its
elephants during the 1980s alone.
“It is crucial that elephants are removed from
the trade equation, because we have clearly seen that
the ivory trade cannot be controlled. Elephants must
be afforded the highest possible level of protection
if they are to survive.”
The IFAW elephant event, held in the Jubilee Room
at the House of Commons, was hosted by Leominster
MP Bill Wiggin. Speakers included US biologist Katy
Payne, who has conducted ground-breaking research
into elephant communication – most of which
is too low to be heard by the human ear. Abdul Omar
Bashir, head of law enforcement at the Kenya Wildlife
Service talked about efforts to combat poaching
| 
