UBC zoologist part of research group to recommend ivory trade monitoring and enforcement

Recent petitions from several African nations to ‘downlist’ the conservation status of elephants should be denied because no adequate monitoring of the impact of ivory sales or enforcement of the ivory trade exists, according to recommendations published last week by an international group of researchers which include Rene Beyers, a post-doctoral fellow with the UBC Dept. of Zoology.

“The immediate fear is that down-listing elephants or allowing one-off sales in any African nation will stimulate the market for illegal ivory everywhere, particularly in those countries where law enforcement is inadequate,” says Beyers,

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