By BBC News
A near-total ban on taking baby African elephants from the wild and selling them to zoos has been approved at a meeting in Geneva.
Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) decided to tighten the rules after days of debate.
The European Union decided to back the ban late in the day, despite concerns, and the move passed by 87 votes to 29.
But Zimbabwe, the main exporter, voted against, as did the United States.
Zimbabwe and Botswana, which have healthier elephant populations than other African nations, have been permitted to export elephants to “appropriate and acceptable” destinations.
Under that rule, the country has captured and exported more than 100 baby elephants to Chinese zoos since 2012, Humane Society International says.
Tuesday’s decision significantly strengthens the restrictions on the elephant trade.
Now elephants can only be taken from the wild and placed in “captive facilities” elsewhere in the world under exceptional circumstances – and subject to approval by a committee of Cites members.
The ban was approved by committee last week, but it was far from certain to pass a new vote at the end of the two-week conference. Zimbabwe had campaigned fiercely against the move, and the EU had initially opposed it because of concerns over genetic variation in zoos around the world. Read more>>
