Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-10-23-Speech-3-321"

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"en.20021023.8.3-321"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, as you – and also my fellow Members – have already said, the issue of elephants will once again be discussed at the forthcoming CITES meeting. If we move elephants back into Appendix I, at the request of India and Kenya, will this be enough to prevent these animals from tragically becoming extinct in some countries of Africa, even though their numbers are on the increase in other countries? Opinions are divided. The MIKE system that has been set up, which is highly sophisticated, has not yet provided, and will not provide, according to a number of specialists, a satisfactory answer. It has, in fact, absorbed a substantial amount of funding which could have been put to better use, had it, for example, been spent on ways to combat poaching or on the training of keepers. Elephants are poached for their ivory and their natural habitat has been considerably altered and reduced. Even if their use is authorised, whatever the precise and restrictive framework that might be decided upon, there is a danger that poaching will once again become widespread and that this, in the long term, will led to elephants becoming extinct in some countries of Africa. The European Union must therefore very firmly reject any unlawful resumption of the trade in ivory. At the same time, what lesson could we have to give the local populations who would levy a reasonable tax on their fauna, when we ourselves, in France for example, are incapable of providing adequate conditions for the survival of bears in the Pyrenees or rare wolves in the Alps? By way of comparison, we welcome the gesture made by Cuba, which has withdrawn its request for the use of turtles and, in parallel, the European Union has a duty to reject the request, submitted by the Cayman Islands to breed green turtles in captivity, which could facilitate the illegal trade in these animals. The desire and the need to safeguard biodiversity on the planet requires the adoption of tough and proactive decisions which must not allow any loophole for traffickers of any kind, whilst enabling the local populations to use their natural resources, including fauna, in a sustainable manner, even if this may sometimes be akin to attempting the impossible."@en1

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