The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) adopted on Tuesday a text that strictly limits the international trade of African wild elephants for captivity, as in zoos.
The text was voted in plenary session of CITES with 87 votes in favor, 29 against and 25 abstentions, bringing together the two-thirds majority needed for its adoption. A first version of the text had been adopted on 19 August, at the beginning of the CITES meeting, which is being held in Geneva until Wednesday, but this decision had aroused strong opposition from some countries. On Tuesday, in plenary, the European Union presented an amended version of the text in an attempt to reach a compromise. This new version, however, gave rise to very tense debates, as some countries, such as Zimbabwe, were against, and required a break in the session before being adopted.
Sale authorized only "in exceptional circumstances"
This text, originally presented by several African countries, focuses on the international trade in live African elephants and defines what are the "appropriate and acceptable recipients" for these animals. The document indicates that the only places capable of hosting African wild-caught elephants in good conditions are in situ conservation programs in Africa, in areas where elephants currently live or may have been present in the past excluding, in fact, zoos or leisure parks.
The text adopted on Tuesday, however, introduces the possibility of selling African wild-caught African elephants "in exceptional circumstances" internationally, in consultation with CITES and International Union for the Conservation of Nature specialists. (IUCN), or in the context of temporary transfers in emergency situations. Created more than 40 years ago, CITES sets the rules for the international trade of more than 35,000 species of wildlife and has a mechanism that allows it to impose sanctions on countries that do not respect these rules. .