Maintaining a ban on the ivory trade in exchange for throwing a lifeline to the Bluefin Tuna? Sounds like a win-win situation to me. Reuters has more:
Support protection of our elephants and we'll help you protect your bluefin tuna, 23 African countries told the European Union on Friday.
I'm not sure what motivates European opposition to the ivory ban. Is the EU currying favor with ivory lover China? Debt-strapped Tanzania and Zambia -- the two countries reportedly trying to chip away at the ivory ban -- don't exactly have a lot of heft on this or many other topics.
"Please do not force our collective hand to cast our 23 votes against the EU on any of the issues it is supporting such as, for example, the high profile proposed ban on bluefin tuna," said the letter seen by Reuters.
Let's hope Europe's priorities are sorted out by the time the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meets on March 13.
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