United Kingdom
After the United Kingdom government’s Ivory Consultation, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) response to the recent ivory consultation is welcomed – “Banning UK sales of ivory – Summary of responses and government response,” dated April 2018.
Update, 25 May 2018: “Prohibiting the commercial dealing of ivory in the UK – Impact Assessment,” DEFRA, 23 May 2018
Update, 31 May 2018: Follow the UK’s Ivory Bill 2017 -19 through the Parliamentary process (second reading of the Bill due 4 June 2018). Write to your MP urging them to attend the readings and support the bill’s progress.
However, it remains unclear if DEFRA’s response encompasses the banning of elephant hunting trophy importation (ie. tusks/ivory) into the United Kingdom (and the potential loop-hole that represents), where an elephant hunting trophy clearly falls within the definition of ivory obtained by commercial means – elephant hunting trophies and the tusks (ivory) are obtained in exchange for payment and “buying” the ‘right’ (sic) to kill an elephant.
So, the IWB (and others) have sought clarity from DEFRA – IWB Ivory Consultation Response, 30 April 2018.
Australia
The Parliament of Australia has launched an inquiry/consultation, “Trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn” – with submissions due by 7 June 2018. There are guidelines available – “Preparing a Submission,” “Terms of Reference“:
- “clearly address some or all of the terms of reference—you do not need to address each one
- are relevant and highlight your own perspective
- are concise, generally no longer than four to five pages
- begin with a short introduction about yourself or the organisation you represent
- emphasise the key points so that they are clear
- outline not only what the issues are but how problems can be addressed, as the committee looks to submissions for ideas to make recommendations
- only include documents that directly relate to your key points
- only include information you would be happy to see published on the internet“
IWB’s submission is given here (and published as a ‘Submission received by the Committee’):
IWB_Ivory and Rhino Horn Consultation Response_I02_20 May 2018