Kenya to push for total ban on ivory trade at CITES meeting

The Kenyan government will lobby for a total ban on ivory trade during the 17th meeting of conference of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to be held in Johannesburg from Sept. 24 to Oct. 5.

A statement from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said Thursday that Kenya will lobby the international community to back its proposals on putting an end to trade in trophies during the high-level summit.

"Kenya remains committed to playing its rightful role in ensuring that international trade in endangered species does not threaten survival of wildlife species like elephants," read the statement.

It added that Kenya has prepared comprehensive proposals calling for total ban on ivory trade to be presented at the CITES meeting.

"It is critically important that parties to CITES adopt Kenyan proposals calling for decisive action to ban trade in elephant tusks in order to save the giant mammals from imminent extinction," said the statement.

Kenya is a member of the African elephant coalition that has lobbied the international community to support a ban on ivory trade ahead of CITES meeting.

The coalition will submit a set of proposals at the meeting, calling on governments and multilateral agencies to strengthen protection of elephants through outlawing trade in trophies.

Likewise, the coalition has pushed for closure of domestic and international market for ivory, and prohibition of the export of live African elephant to foreign zoos.

Kenyan won global acclaim in April when President Uhuru Kenyatta set ablaze 105 tons of elephant tusks and 1.03 tons of rhino horns seized from poachers. Enditem