Global wildlife agency hails Sino-U.S. deal to save elephants

A global wildlife conservation organization on Monday lauded agreement reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama committing to take swift action to protect elephants.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) CEO Azzedine Downes said the agreement reached on Friday would play a key role in ending the poaching crisis across the globe.

"President Xi has delivered a tremendous victory in the battle to save elephants. China has slammed the door in the face of all those who are profiting from the slaughter of elephants," Downes said in a statement released in Nairobi.

It is estimated that 35,000 elephants are killed every year, or one every 15 minutes, for the ivory trade.

"As the world's largest market for legal and illegal ivory, this ban will save the lives of tens of thousands of elephants," he added.

In May, Chinese authorities crushed 662 kg of confiscated ivory at the Beijing Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.

The destruction enabled the Chinese government to in future step up wildlife conservation with no hideout for illegal wildlife trade including ivory trafficking in China.

Conservationists say rising demand for ivory and rhino horn in Asia has caused a poaching crisis in recent years across Kenya in particular, and Africa as a whole with over 1,000 rhinos having been killed in Africa in the last two years.

Downes said Beijing's ivory trade ban follows the announcement by President Obama of strict new ivory regulations which will lead to a massive reduction in ivory sales in the U.S., one of the world's top markets for ivory.

They said these regulations are not yet finalized and are still open for public comment through Sept. 28.

The regulations would prohibit the sale of most ivory items across state lines, and would further restrict imports and exports, with some limited exceptions.

The two presidents had committed to enacting "nearly complete bans on ivory imports and exports, including significant and timely restrictions on the import of ivory as hunting trophies," and promised to "take significant and timely steps to halt the domestic commercial trade of ivory."

In addition, the two leaders pledged further cooperation to halt the surge of wildlife trafficking that imperils countless species around the world.

"IFAW's behavior change campaign has reduced the demand for ivory in China through improving consumers' knowledge that elephants are killed for their ivory, thereby changing consumer attitudes and altering buying practice, leading to a significant reduction in the desire to buy ivory," said Grace Ge Gabriel, Asia Regional Director of IFAW.

"As a Chinese-American, I am so proud to see China and America, the two global powers taking the leadership role in the fight to save elephants," she added. Enditem