Animals

Sulfurous auctioning in Morlaix, Finistère, Monday, March 30, 2015 at 2:30 p.m., 37 rue de Paris. Wildlife pollution is going to descend over the city at the beginning of the week. The Dupont house and its associates are organizing a garage sale of old taxidermies. All of the pillaged African wildlife will be brought together. The noticeable presence of a pretty monkey’s head with its mouth open – complete with original teeth – and a lion cub measuring 28 centimeters long.

But the center pieces are coming from the Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal. The personal collection of André-Roger Dupuy, the correspondent of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, head curator of the park from 1967 to 1974 and director of Senegal’s national parks between 1973 and 1987 – 20 years of a safari the hunting version rather than a photographic one – will finish by being dispersed.

Today, on behalf of 41 international and European Non-Governmental Organizations, Robin des Bois is sending the attached letter to the European commissioner in charge of the environment and to all the UE ministers in charge of the trafficking of species threatened by extinction.

This letter asks the European Union and all the member states to suspend all exportation of raw ivory. It turns out that the unilateral decisions taken by the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and France are in fact ineffective insofar as elephants tusks sold at auctions can eventually leave the European Union from a country that has not made an analogous decision. The example of Cannes Enchères in France (see the press release “Ivory to China: the Belgian Network” that was published on March 4, 2015) is the sad proof of this.

Today, on behalf of 41 international and European Non-Governmental Organizations, Robin des Bois is sending the attached letter to the European commissioner in charge of the environment and to all the UE ministers in charge of the trafficking of species threatened by extinction.

This letter asks the European Union and all the member states to suspend all exportation of raw ivory. It turns out that the unilateral decisions taken by the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and France are in fact ineffective insofar as elephants tusks sold at auctions can eventually leave the European Union from a country that has not made an analogous decision. The example of Cannes Enchères in France (see the press release “Ivory to China: the Belgian Network” that was published on March 4, 2015) is the sad proof of this.

Last Friday, custom services visited the Cannes Enchères auction room and found several irregularities with regards to CITES regulations on trade in endangered species of wildlife. We’re far from the image of an establishment beyond reproach supposedly cited as an example by state services. Robin des Bois requests that the Ministry of Ecology and customs make public the exact result of this animal inspection that lasted over 6 hours.

500 kg of ivory stamped as legal will be sold on Saturday afternoon by Cannes Enchères. A colonial heritage with the aura of legality granted to ancient ivory, these tusks taken from homes, attics and garages thanks to the active prospection carried out by Cannes Enchères will, if the buyers succeed in getting them out of France and the European Union, feed the workshops and supermarkets of those who make profit out of the elephants’ extinction.

Last Friday, custom services visited the Cannes Enchères auction room and found several irregularities with regards to CITES regulations on trade in endangered species of wildlife. We’re far from the image of an establishment beyond reproach supposedly cited as an example by state services. Robin des Bois requests that the Ministry of Ecology and customs make public the exact result of this animal inspection that lasted over 6 hours.

500 kg of ivory stamped as legal will be sold on Saturday afternoon by Cannes Enchères. A colonial heritage with the aura of legality granted to ancient ivory, these tusks taken from homes, attics and garages thanks to the active prospection carried out by Cannes Enchères will, if the buyers succeed in getting them out of France and the European Union, feed the workshops and supermarkets of those who make profit out of the elephants’ extinction.

Following the lead of the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, France decided to ban from its soil the exportation of raw and cut ivory.

Cannes Enchères (Cannes Auctions) took the responsibility to circumvent this decision by proposing to future Asian buyers the sale of these tusks on Saturday, March 7. They will do this by shipping the tusks through Belgium and by benefiting from re-exportation certificates delivered by Belgian authorities. Belgium has not yet followed the lead of the four other European countries. Alerted to this prospect, the Belgian Minister of Energy, of the Environment and of Sustainable Development just declared that if this ivory arrives in Belgium for purposes of exportation outside of the European Union, she will halt it for investigation. Ms. Marghem, the minister, is also calling for a global European accord on the ban of the re-exportation of ivory tusks from the European Union.

Following the lead of the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, France decided to ban from its soil the exportation of raw and cut ivory.

Cannes Enchères (Cannes Auctions) took the responsibility to circumvent this decision by proposing to future Asian buyers the sale of these tusks on Saturday, March 7. They will do this by shipping the tusks through Belgium and by benefiting from re-exportation certificates delivered by Belgian authorities. Belgium has not yet followed the lead of the four other European countries. Alerted to this prospect, the Belgian Minister of Energy, of the Environment and of Sustainable Development just declared that if this ivory arrives in Belgium for purposes of exportation outside of the European Union, she will halt it for investigation. Ms. Marghem, the minister, is also calling for a global European accord on the ban of the re-exportation of ivory tusks from the European Union.

Marie-Christine Marghem, the Belgian Minister for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, declared yesterday that she was quite pleased with the action of her department in the struggle against the traffic of endangered species and ensured that her country gave a special attention to the protection of elephants. At the same time, Belgium is preparing to clear on the international market raw ivory tusks imported from France, despite an export ban taken in January by the French Ministry of Ecology and immediately practicable.

Marie-Christine Marghem, the Belgian Minister for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, declared yesterday that she was quite pleased with the action of her department in the struggle against the traffic of endangered species and ensured that her country gave a special attention to the protection of elephants. At the same time, Belgium is preparing to clear on the international market raw ivory tusks imported from France, despite an export ban taken in January by the French Ministry of Ecology and immediately practicable.

On 27 January 2015 the French Minister of Ecology gave instructions to services to not further deliver CITES certificates (1) for re-export of raw tusks or ivory tusk sections. She also called upon the European Commission so as for “Member States to no longer encourage demand by exporting legal ivory, being proven that it plays an important role in development of illegal slaughter of elephants.” This decision was applauded by 39 Non-Governmental Organizations around the world who had asked Madam Royal to take such action. (2)