BY AFP
Zimbabwe has demanded the right to sell its stockpile of ivory to raise money for conservation, wildlife authorities said Tuesday, joining other southern African nations in calling for the global ban on the trade in tusks to be relaxed.
Wildlife authorities in the cash-strapped nation estimate the country’s decades-old hoard of ivory is worth around $300 million, which they say would help plug funding gaps for game reserves.
The proposal has put it on a collision course with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prohibits the sale of ivory to curb poaching.
Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia have cited the growing number of elephants in some regions in their bid to have the restrictions relaxed…Read more>>
