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CONSERVATION

Ivory: France destroys three tonnes of tusks

Around three tonnes of elephant tusks were dumped at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on Thursday, before being turned to dust in front of the eyes of the French environment minister and a crowd of onlookers. But what was it all about?

Published: 6 February 2014 15:00 CET
Ivory: France destroys three tonnes of tusks
France destroyed three tonnes of elephant tusks on Thursday in a symbolic gesture against the illegal trade in ivory. Photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP

France fired the latest volley on Thursday in the world's uphill battle against African elephant poaching, crushing three tonnes of illegal ivory at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and urging others to follow suit.

The contraband with an estimated street value of  €1 million ($1.4 million) was fed into a machine and ground, with the powder to be carted off and incinerated.

"With this destruction today… France is sending an unequivocal message to poachers, traffickers and consumers of illicit wildlife products," said French Environment Minister Philippe Martin who attended the event.

"We are resolved to continue the fight against trafficking, and to remove any temptation to recover the seized ivory " for the contraband market. Africa's emblematic pachyderms are being massacred at an unsustainable rate for their tusks to produce ivory that is in high demand in the rapidly growing economies of Asia, particularly China and Thailand.

Some 22,000 African elephants were killed illegally in 2012, according to a report last year of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which warned of "local extinctions if the present killing rates continue".

The African elephant population is presently estimated at some 500,000 individuals — about half the 1980 total. Environmentalists say destroying confiscated ivory is the only way of ensuring that the contraband is permanently removed from the market.

"There are several cases of seized ivory being 'lost' from stockpiles, ie. stolen, then re-entering illegal trade," wildlife crime specialist Wendy Elliot of green group WWF told AFP by email.

French environmental group Robin des Bois, whose name means Robin Hood in English, estimates that France has seized some 17 tonnes of the commodity from smugglers since a global ivory ban was imposed in 1989.

The ban has since been partially overturned to allow limited legal sales — a move conservationists claim has boosted black-market demand.

Most of France's stash has been held in storerooms of law enforcement and justice agencies, or museums. The three tons comprised 2.3 tonnes or 698 individual tusks, both unadorned and engraved, as well as 15,357 ivory ornaments including bracelets, necklaces and sculptures.

Martin said his country was the first in Europe since the 1989 ban to destroy seized ivory in such a public gesture, adding he expected other nations will follow suit.

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ANIMALS

EXPLAINED: Why a plan to shoot deer at this Basel City cemetery is causing a storm

A plan to shoot several deer who live in a cemetery just a few kilometres from the centre of Basel is causing a stir in Switzerland.

Published: 25 August 2020 13:25 CEST
EXPLAINED: Why a plan to shoot deer at this Basel City cemetery is causing a storm
One of the deer at Basel's Hörnli Cemetery. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

In May 2020, cantonal police in Basel City approved a request from city gardeners to cull several deer who live at the canton’s Hörnli Cemetery (Friedhof am Hörnli). 

Animal rights advocates have challenged the request, saying the deer should be protected. 

The cull has been suspended after an appeal was made to the Justice and Security Department of Basel City. 

The deer have lived at the cemetery – Switzerland’s largest – since it was built in 1926, although city records indicate that the deer population was “manageable” in the early days. 

The population has increased in recent years from 15 to 25.

The cemetery spans 54 hectares with space for 60,000 graves and is situated just metres from the Swiss-German border. 

Deer snacking on flowers at Basel's Hörnli Cemetery. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

‘A culinary paradise’ 

Advocates of the cull plan have said it is necessary for the ‘conservation’ of the cemetery. 

They argue the deer destroy gardens at the cemetery, leading to additional costs for maintenance. 

The risk of diseases its also increased due to the animal’s close proximity. 

In a plan more reminiscent of a spy thriller than a conservation effort, the ‘targeted kill’ is set to take place after dark which “should be done with silencers out of consideration for the peace and quiet of the grave and the adjacent living quarters.”

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports that the cemetery is a “culinary paradise” for the deer “with its variety of flowers and other plants”. 

‘Killing innocent animals just for eating flowers’

The animal advocates who launched the appeal gathered 18,000 signatures to suspend the effort. Among the supporters is French actress Brigitte Bardot, who wrote to the cantonal authorities demanding that the deer be protected. 

Fondation Franz Weber, which has been previously successful with animal protection efforts in the canton, has criticised the cull plan for “killing innocent animals just for eating flowers”. 

Private hunting is banned “as a matter of practice” in cemeteries all across Switzerland, said cantonal authorities. 

Switzerland is set to go to the polls in a referendum on hunting practices in September of 2020, although this is not related to the decision on the deer in the cemetery. 

 

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