No tickling of ivory keys

Harare – Zimbabwe sought the support of the European Union to sell off R9.6 billion worth of ivory it has accumulated due to the global ban on the sale of tusks.

International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).

Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director-general Fulton Mangwanya told EU ambassadors to Harare that the country has 163 000 tons of ivory and 67 tons of rhino horns in vaults.

“The burden of managing a stockpile that we cannot derive economic value from, or plough back into the communities and conservation of the same species is quite a great pain to us,” he said.

“We kindly request the support of the EU for Zimbabwe to be allowed a once-off sale of our national ivory stock,” said Mangwanya.

The EU diplomats were taken on tour of the vaults in Harare.

Mangwanya said if allowed, the funds would be used to benefit local communities living around animal conservancies.

The country can support 55 000 elephants but the population has more than doubled. –