Wildlife Conservation: 108 tonnes of elephant tusks for sale to Japan and China - and it's legal!

AAP reports the first legal ivory sales in nearly a decade are being held in southern Africa, with a special auction for Chinese and Japanese buyers bidding for 108 tonnes of elephant tusks.

Four African countries have been authorised by CITES, the international convention that regulates trade in endangered species, to make a once-off sale of ivory to the two Asian powers.

But some conservationists fear that the sudden arrival of so much legal ivory on the Chinese and Japanese markets could provide a way for poachers to slip their ill-gotten wares past the eyes of regulators.

The Asian giants are among the world's largest markets for ivory, which is used for families' traditional seals to stamp documents as well as handicrafts.

Full story: Legal African ivory sold to China, Japan (SBS World News)

Published by Mike Hitchen, OverallStrategy.com
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