U.S. Prepared to Endorse Sale of Ivory Under Stringent Rules

SANTIAGO, Chile â€”  The United States said Monday that it would endorse a one-time sale of African ivory if strict international enforcement regulations were set in place.

An American delegation here at the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species offered a proposal to allow Botswana’s government to sell nearly 45 tons of elephant ivory worth millions of dollars.

International trade in ivory has been illegal since 1989.

Botswana and four other southern African nations have sought permission to sell a total of 188 tons of ivory in a one-time sale. They also seek a yearly sale of ivory from stockpiles collected from elephants culled in management plans.

Elephants in most of Africa continue to recover from poaching that reduced their population from 1.3 million to 600,000 during the 1980s.

Some nations, like Botswana, say their management plans have been so successful that they have more elephants than their parks can accommodate.

Although many nations argue that any ivory sale could lead to new poaching, Craig Manson of the U.S. delegation disagreed.

The U.S. proposal calls for strict monitoring of elephant populations across Africa and in Asia, along with tighter customs controls. If approved, ivory sales would begin in four years.

The convention is to vote on the U.S. proposal today.