Elephant leather bid fails
11/09/2019
CITES lists almost all African elephants in its Appendix I, which means trade involving any part of animals “taken from the wild” is prohibited. Elephants from countries with large populations of the animals, such as Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, appear instead in Appendix II, which does allow commercial international trade of some by-products, provided traders have the necessary permits. Trade in all ivory, however, has Appendix I status.
Earlier this year, Zambia presented a formal request to CITES, asking for its elephant population to be listed in Appendix II. It said it wanted to have the chance to trade in hides and leather from elephants that had come into conflict with humans. This is a reference to occasions on which villagers or farmers shoot an elephant because it poses a threat to human life or to crops.
Zambia’s request received a negative response from CITES.
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