African elephants to dominate world wildlife talks: organizers

African elephants will dominate the discussions at the upcoming World Wildlife Conference, which will have the largest agenda on protecting wildlife, organizers said Thursday.

The conference, officially known as the 17th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), will come up with measures to combat illegal trade in endangered species, CITES Secretary General John Scanlon said at a press briefing in Johannesburg.

The conference will be held in Johannesburg between Sept. 24 and Oct. 5.

"CITES meeting are sometimes robust and intense as stakes are high. We expect that this conference will have the largest agenda we ever had. We will talk about trade controls of over 500 species of animals and plants," Scanlon said.

He said African elephants will dominate the discussions with contradicting proposals.

Scanlon said African elephants attract much attention in terms of proposals for their protection and whether to allow ivory trade, domestics markets and stockpile of ivory.

He said there will also be discussions about sharks, timber, lions and pangolins.

Scanlon also pointed to a surge in the illegal trafficking of the pangolin, saying this must be stopped.

Scanlon acknowledged progress made in the fight against wildlife trafficking but said threats still exist. He stressed the need to address where the animals and plants are trafficked from, along the way and their destination. Endit