IVORY TRADE (No. 2)

That this House strongly opposes demands from Tanzania and Zambia temporarily to lift the worldwide ban on ivory trading for a one-off sale; notes that at present the illegal ivory trade is already devastating elephant populations and in some central and west African countries is pushing them close to extinction; further notes that the resumption of any such trading creates a market into which illegally-poached ivory can be laundered, therefore boosting demand and increasing the risk to elephants; is dismayed that the issue is being debated despite agreements that when the last ivory auction was sanctioned in 2007 there would be no more such one-off sales for at least nine years; calls on the Government to take a clear lead in opposing all moves to weaken the ban; and urges UK representatives in Europe to make their voice heard at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Qatar in March 2010.