The 182-country United Nations body knows that unless elephant poaching is stopped now, the animal will disappear from the wild in a couple of decades.

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Zimbabwe and Namibia, backed by South Africa, want to be allowed to sell their stockpile of ivory.

Botswana’s ranged against them, backed by 29 other African nations, calling for an immediate and permanent ban on the sale of ivory and the destruction of stockpiles to remove its financial value.

The convention is expected to continue the ban on trading rhino horn.

However there is a well-financed lobby arguing that  those  farming rhino are protecting the species and should be permitted to make large profits by harvesting  the horn, which grows back.

The post At CITIES, Africa’s split over what do about the elephant appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.