Balisage

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.

Flying the flag of Saint-Vincent-et-Grenadines, the Serval, a tugboat built in 1977, is arriving at Cherbourg. In January 2015, the most recent inspection of the Serval in the port of Gdynia in Poland revealed eleven deficiencies. This precarious state has been noted for the past eight years. In 2007, the Serval had been detained in Denmark with 23 deficiencies.

The Serval is not coming to Cherbourg to be demolished. It’s in the port in Normandy to tow an old, abandoned tuna boat that has been stuck in the wharf since the summer of 2007. It will be towing into the risks and perils of the sea. The Marginella, built in 1985, measures 55 meters in length. Its operating crew comprises 25 sailors. It belongs to the Soviet tuna fishing fleet. It is the last survivor of eleven units of tuna seiners from the Tibiya project, built between 1980 and 1986 with the exception of Tibiya, which was converted into a service boat in the Caspian Sea.

Flying the flag of Saint-Vincent-et-Grenadines, the Serval, a tugboat built in 1977, is arriving at Cherbourg. In January 2015, the most recent inspection of the Serval in the port of Gdynia in Poland revealed eleven deficiencies. This precarious state has been noted for the past eight years. In 2007, the Serval had been detained in Denmark with 23 deficiencies.

The Serval is not coming to Cherbourg to be demolished. It’s in the port in Normandy to tow an old, abandoned tuna boat that has been stuck in the wharf since the summer of 2007. It will be towing into the risks and perils of the sea. The Marginella, built in 1985, measures 55 meters in length. Its operating crew comprises 25 sailors. It belongs to the Soviet tuna fishing fleet. It is the last survivor of eleven units of tuna seiners from the Tibiya project, built between 1980 and 1986 with the exception of Tibiya, which was converted into a service boat in the Caspian Sea.

Only in French.

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.