The office of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) said poaching levels were far above the elephant birth rate.

 

However, the report said poaching numbers had dropped slightly compared to the previous two years.

 

Transnational organised crime appeared to be involved in the trade, it added.

 

Cites, which is based in Geneva, is responsible for regulating the international trade in more than 35,000 species of plants and animals.

 

There are a number of interesting signals in these latest figures, perhaps indicating that the tougher line being taken by Cites is bearing fruit. 

 

For the first time, more large-scale consignments² of ivory have been seized in Africa rather than in Asia. 

 

This is down to better policing in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and perhaps a slight downturn in demand from the key markets such as China, which carried out the first public destruction of ivory earlier this year. 

 

There is also the rise in demand in China for legal mammoth³ ivory that is mainly exported from Russia, which may also indicate a growing awareness⁴ of the connection to elephants and a willingness to look at alternatives. 

 

While these may be positive indicators⁵, the report highlights continuing bad news. 

 

The slaughter⁶ of elephants is rising in countries like the Central African Republic, where local populations remain on the verge⁷ of extinction⁸.

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