{"id":129193,"date":"2019-03-11T12:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=129193"},"modified":"2019-03-18T07:23:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-18T07:23:04","slug":"tell-the-eu-to-ban-the-ivory-trade-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/03\/tell-the-eu-to-ban-the-ivory-trade-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Tell the EU to Ban the Ivory Trade \u2013 NOW!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Freshly poached \u2013 and traded in the EU as \u201cantique\u201d ivory.\u00a0(\u00a9 Virunga Nationalpark, DR Kongo)<\/p><\/div>\n

The EU sees itself as a conservation leader, yet\u00a0it has a blind spot for the ivory business. The trade in \u201cantique\u201d ivory remains legal in the EU \u2013 a convenient loophole to launder tons of freshly poached tusks and export them to Asia. Tell the EU to kill the trade \u2013 before the trade kills the last elephants!<\/p>\n

Call to action<\/strong><\/p>\n

To: the European Commission and governments of the Member States<\/p>\n

Ban the ivory trade completely in the EU. Poaching will not stop until the market for ivory has been eradicated.<\/p>\n

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Read letter<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Many people assume that elephants are poached in Africa and their ivory is sold to Asia \u2013 and that Europe is completely out of the picture. In fact, Europe is a hub for both the legal and illegal trade in ivory.<\/p>\n

The sale, the import and export of existing ivory stock is legal in Europe \u2013 making it relatively simple for\u00a0organized criminals to use the trade to launder illegal ivory from poached elephants.<\/p>\n

Ivory is openly available for sale in the EU at auctions, in antique shops\u00a0and online. Some EU companies are\u00a0even specialized in purchasing and exporting ivory to Asia: more than seven tons of ivory and over 12,000 ivory carvings were exported to Hong Kong alone over the last two years.<\/p>\n

No one can say how much illegal ivory is being laundered on the European market, or how many elephants have been killed for it.<\/p>\n

In two recent conferences, the international community called on all governments to shut down their domestic ivory markets. The EU has not complied with these demands and continues to undermine the global struggle to save the elephants.<\/p>\n

Please call on the EU to ban the ivory trade completely. We need to kill the trade \u2013 before the trade kills the last elephants!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Back\u00adground<\/a> Letter<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This petition is also available in the following languages:<\/strong><\/p>\n