JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said on Tuesday that it will oppose trade in the Big Five animals (elephants, rhinos, sharks, pangolins and tigers) at the upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference.
South Africa will host the CITES conference from Sept. 24 to Oct. 5 in Johannesburg.
"We want CITES to focus on 19 African countries and Asia which are facilitating illegal trade in African elephants. We also want main players in illegal trade identified," Dr. Colman Criodain, WWF Global Wildlife Trade analyst, said at a press conference in Johannesburg.
The WWF wants the conference to have measures put in place by countries to stop illegal trade, he said.
Countries like Swaziland have asked to be allowed for a limited trade in their white rhinos, which WWF opposes, Criodain said.
The WWF says research shows that some Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand are the biggest consumers of the Big Five.
"Countries like Vietnam have poor regulatory mechanism to stop illegal trade. We are not convinced that measures are in place to ensure that illegal trade is stopped. Allowing global trade is potentially disastrous. Countries like Japan also have some lax market control which drives poaching," Criodain said.
About 30,000 elephants and 6,000 rhinos have been poached since 2008, according to the WWF.
Theressa Frantz, Head of Environmental Programmes at WWF South Africa, told Xinhua that China has made progress in curbing illegal trade in the Big Five.
"China has taken steps to cooperate with CITES. China has publicly announced that they will stop domestic sale of ivory. They have also removed the use of rhino horns for medicines," Frantz said.
Frantz stressed the need for countries producing trophies like South Africa to have bilateral treaties with consuming countries to share information about enforcement and seizures to fight illegal trade.
She also expressed fear that legalizing global trade might promote illegal trade.
Some countries, Frantz said, will use the legal channels to promote illegal trade and laundering.
"We will monitor consumer countries to ensure that illegal trade stop and monitor their efforts," she said.
