Illegal Ivory Openly Sold Across Europe: Study
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published July 10, 2018 | 11:41 PM
Traders are selling illegal ivory openly across the European Union through a loophole allowing trade in "antique" items, the campaign group Avaaz charged Tuesday.
Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jul, 2018 ) :Traders are selling illegal ivory openly across the European Union through a loophole allowing trade in "antique" items, the campaign group Avaaz charged Tuesday.
Avaaz said nearly all of the 109 ivory pieces it bought in 10 EU countries were found to be illegal after they were tested at Britain's Oxford University.
It said one-fifth of the items came from elephants killed after the global ivory trade was banned in 1989 and three quarters from animals slaughtered after 1947.
EU law requires government certificates for the sale of ivory acquired after 1947 and before 1990, but Avaaz said none of the ivory it bought had a certificate.
"This bombshell evidence proves beyond doubt that illegal ivory is being sold across Europe," Avaaz campaign director Bert Wander said in a statement.
"It must spark the end of this bloody trade. Every day the sale of these trinkets continues is a day closer to wiping out majestic elephants forever," Wander added.
Avaaz bought the items over a four-month period from Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Britain.
It said the study counters claims by the European Commission, the 28-nation EU's executive arm, that there was no evidence of illegal ivory being sold.
The new evidence, it added, puts pressure on the EU to ban the trade outright because so many pieces are being passed off as "antique" ivory from elephants killed before 1947, which is legal.
The most recent ivory tested by Oxford's radio-carbon dating unit was from after 2010, Avaaz said.
"The Commission should close the antique ivory loophole, end ivory exports from Europe and shut down the EU's internal trade in raw tusks," Avaaz said.
"This is the only way it can preserve its status as a leader in fighting the wildlife trade and protecting African elephants," it added.
The EU's environment commissioner Karmenu Vella pledged to look into the claims after visiting Avaaz's exhibition of illegal ivory outside the Commission in Brussels.
The work is a "very helpful contribution for @EU_Commission as we go through process of planning our next steps," Vella tweeted. "Protecting living elephants the priority."Avaaz said China, Hong Kong and Britain have all implemented or announced ivory bans over the last year.
It said as many as 30,000 elephants are slaughtered each year, warning the animals could be extinct in the wild within decades if not enough action is taken.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
PSX gains 771 points
PITB HR Wing organizes Eid Milan celebration for children at PITB Day Care Cente ..
Cabinet briefed on progress of PIA privatization
Meeting held to streamline trade between Pak-Afghan , Central Asian Republics
SONY x TECNO - is this for real?
Progress of Aaghosh, Bunyad, Khud Mukhtar programs discussed
SBP to announce monetary policy on April 29
London stocks hit new record peak on takeovers
Summer School on Understanding Greenhouse Gas Emission and Measurement Technique ..
Rupee sees slight recovery against US dollar
Govt to out source waste management companies to generate revenue
Rawat police arrest four robbers; recover Rs 700,000
More Stories From World
-
UK man charged with 'Russia-backed arson plot' on Ukraine-linked targets
21 minutes ago -
EU toughens safety rules for online retailer Shein
21 minutes ago -
French barber still trimming at 90
21 minutes ago -
Barrett inspires Crusaders' return to form against Rebels
31 minutes ago -
Philippine settlement submerged by dam reappears due to drought
31 minutes ago -
Blinken says US campus protests part of 'democracy'
51 minutes ago
-
Vietnam National Assembly head resigns amid graft purge
1 hour ago -
Team from Gaza mediator Egypt heads to Israel: source
2 hours ago -
Xi tells Blinken US, China should be 'partners, not rivals'
2 hours ago -
Ukraine agriculture minister freed on bail in corruption case
2 hours ago -
Vietnam National Assembly head resigns amid graft purge
2 hours ago -
Calls for mosque demolition weigh on India's Muslim voters
2 hours ago