The United Nations agreed last month to allow Botswana
to have a one off sale of approximately 20,000 kilogrammes of ivory from
elephant tusks, expected to be stockpiled by 2004. Similar bids have also
been approved to take place in Namibia (who have 10,000kg of elephant
tusk ivory) and South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have also asked to do
the same. Some environmental and conservation groups have reacted angrily
to the news, saying the decision could “spell doom” for elephants
and will encourage poaching. The African elephant population has fallen
from 1.3 million in 1980 to between 300,000 and 450,000 today.