Asian consumers unaware of poaching, says HK lawmaker

Dar es Salaam. Asians, who are leading consumers of ivory and other protected animal products globally, do not know that the goods are a result of poaching, says a visiting lawmaker.

Speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Hong Kong legislator Elizabeth Quat said lack of awareness about the source of the products by the consumers was a major impediment to the global war against poaching.

“They buy ivory like a piece of art. They think the products come from animals that die of natural causes,” she said.

The member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council who also visited Kenya was in East Africa to see for herself the situation on the ground ahead of her campaign to persuade Asians to stop buying the trophies as a means of controlling poaching.

Also, she said she was going to agitate for a stringent legislation in her country to ban domestic ivory trade. Because the success of such legal control measures will need the support of citizens, her campaign will start with awareness creation.

“But for this to succeed, we have to work together,” she said: “I urge my government and the Tanzanian government to do all they can to counter the looming extinction of these beautiful animals that are global heritage.”

Ms Quat’s visit coincided with the news that some 262 kilogrammes of ivory worth $413,000 (Sh826 million) were smuggled through Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) last month.

The ivory was seized at Zurich Airport in Switzerland on July 6 on its way from Dar es Salaam to China.

The French news agency AFP reported on Tuesday that the contraband had been chopped up and stashed in eight suitcases, along with around a kilo of lion teeth and claws.

“How did the suitcases pass through our airport?” asked anti-poaching ambassador Jacqueline Mengi, who hosted Ms Quat: “Something is seriously wrong somewhere.”