On Thursday 23 September, the Fondation Franz Weber (FFW), alarmed by the Namibian government’s intention to sell wild elephants for export, expressed surprise that the EU had turned a deaf ear to its call for urgent action to protect global biodiversity.
“We call on Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, champion of the EU’s 2030 Biodiversity Strategy and representative of CITES’ most influential partner, to intervene in this most urgent case, and urge Namibia’s Environment Minister, Shifeta Pohamba, to cancel this cruel and unnecessary export of wild elephants”, the NGO said in a statement.
On 11 August 2021, Namibia confirmed that it had found buyers for 57 wild elephants, 42 of which are for export, in response to a tender for the sale of 170 wild elephants. The NGO says that after writing to CITES, it wrote another letter on 6 September, asking the EU to take action regarding Namibia.
“The EU has committed itself, in its Biodiversity Strategy, to protecting the world’s wildlife. The EU is a powerful negotiating partner in all international negotiations. It therefore has a role to play in preventing wild African elephants from being taken from their family groups and sent to zoos”, summarises Vera Weber, President of the FFW. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)