[ad_1]
Customs officers stand near a cargo of rhinoceros horn seized by their department at a press conference in Hong Kong on November 15, 2011. (Bobby Yip / Reuters)
HONG KONG – China ended a directive that partially legalized the domestic trade in rhinoceroses and parts of livestock tigers two weeks after the move sparked an avalanche of criticism from conservation groups.
A top Chinese cabinet official said Monday in an interview with the official media that the implementation of the October directive resuscitating the endangered animal parts market had been "postponed after study".
The official, Ding Xuedong, did not specify the length of the delay. But the interview, which was Published in English and Chinese by the official Xinhua News Agency, has been applauded by international conservation advocates who see it as a recognition by Chinese leaders that they have made a mistake.
"The Chinese government has long been dedicated to the cause of protecting wildlife and has achieved world-renowned success," said Ding, senior official of the China State Council (Xinhua), quoted by the Xinhua agency. Ding added that China "has not changed its position in the protection of wildlife and flora and will not mitigate the repression of illicit trafficking and trade in rhinoceroses, tigers and their pennies. -products ".
The State Affairs Council unveiled at the end of October a directive ending a 25-year ban on the trading of rhinoceros and tiger parts, provided they come from animals of the country. 39 and are used for traditional Chinese medicine.
The announcement sparked an uproar among wildlife advocates and the United Nations, who warned that the resumption of the Chinese tiger and rhinoceros market, as proscribed as it may be, would fuel poaching and devastate wild populations. .
Conservation groups applauded the latest reversal of the situation in China, saying it more closely reflects the position Beijing has taken in recent years as a leader in wildlife protection, environmental protection and environmental protection. and climate change. Last year, China was praised for its total ban on the trade in elephant ivory.
"This is a positive sign that China has heard and responded to the major concerns of the international community," said Leigh Henry, Wildlife Policy Director at the World Wide Fund for Nature. "It is essential now that the ban remain permanent and that it be extended to trade in all tiger parts and products, and that a commitment be made to completely eliminate the farms from tigers from China. "
Wildlife advocates speculated in October that China's decision to revive the animal parts market depended on domestic policy. Some saw it as a way to promote traditional Chinese medicine, others saw it as the work of China's tiger farms, which have raised about 6,000 tigers in captivity and are looking for a market for their products.
Ding, top Chinese official, said this week that the government would maintain its policy of "three strict bans", including the ban on using tiger and rhino parts as medicine, and seems to have extended a olive branch abroad.
"I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government is willing to work with the international community to fight together for the protection of wildlife and the construction of our beautiful and harmonious planet," he said.
Read more:
China cancels ban on decades-old tiger and rhinoceros parties, worries environmentalists
China's efforts to export traditional medicine could condemn the magic pangolin
Ivory sales in China are finally ending this week. But elephants are not safe yet
Today's coverage of Swiss Post correspondents around the world
Love Washington Post World on Facebook and stay up to date on foreign news
[ad_2]Source link
