BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON IVORY TRADE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

In recent years, elephant poaching has reached very high levels. Between 20 000 and 30 000 African elephants have been killed every year since 2011. This has led to a widespread decline of the African elephant populations, jeopardising the recovery observed between 1990 and the mid-2000's. Along with increased poaching, the illegal ivory trade has escalated, driven by the continued demand for elephant ivory mainly in Asian markets. According to the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), between 2010 and 2015 approximately 45 tonnes of ivory were seized per annum, mostly in Africa and Asia.

International and EU Regulations

Elephants are included in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which the EU and the 28 EU Member States are Parties. Under the current CITES regime, international commercial trade in elephant ivory is banned, with an exemption for items acquired prior to when CITES started to apply. New measures to address elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade were agreed at the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CITES CoP17) in October 2016. CITES Resolution 10.10 (Rev. CoP17) recommends in particular "that all Parties and non-Parties in whose jurisdiction there is a legal domestic market for ivory that is contributing to poaching or illegal trade, take all necessary legislative, regulatory and enforcement measures to close their domestic markets for commercial trade in raw and worked1 ivory as a matter of urgency" and recognises that "narrow exemptions to this closure for some items may be warranted; any exemptions should not contribute to poaching or illegal trade".

In the EU, CITES is implemented through Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and associated Commission Regulations (jointly referred to as the ‘EU Wildlife Trade Regulations’). In the case of elephant ivory, the EU has adopted stricter measures than CITES provisions. Through the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations, trade to, within and from the EU of elephant ivory for commercial purposes is generally not permitted. Intra-EU trade and the re-export of ivory for commercial purposes are only permitted under the following conditions:

- intra-EU trade is authorised for ivory items imported into the EU before the elephant species was listed in Appendix I of CITES (18th January 1990 for African elephant and 1st July 1975 for Asian elephant)2 (pre-Convention). Intra-EU trade can only occur if a certificate has been issued to this effect by the relevant EU Member State, except for worked 3 specimens acquired before 3rd March 1947 (antiques), which can be traded in the EU without a certificate;

1 As defined in paragraph 1.b of CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP17) on trade in elephant specimens https://cites.org/sites/default/files/document/E-Res-10-10-R17.pdf and transposed into EU legislation through Article 2(w) of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and Guidance document http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52017XC0517(02)&from=EN 2 Pursuant to Article 8(3)(a) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97. 3 As defined in Article 2(w) of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and Guidance document http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52017XC0517(02)&from=EN

- re-export4 from the EU is authorised for ivory specimens acquired before the date on which CITES became applicable to them, i.e. 26th February 1976 for African elephants and 1st July 1975 for Asian elephants5 (pre-Convention). Re-export can only occur if a valid re-export certificate has been issued to this effect by the relevant EU Member State.

The Commission Communication on an EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking6 published in February 2016, and read with the Council Conclusions adopted on 20 June 20167, set out a comprehensive EU strategy against wildlife trafficking. As part of the Action Plan, the European Commission was invited to issue guidelines "to ensure uniform interpretation of EU rules with the aim to suspend the export of raw pre-Convention ivory and guarantee that only legal ancient ivory items are traded in the EU". Accordingly, the European Commission has, in cooperation with the competent CITES Management Authorities of the EU Member States, adopted a guidance document8 in May 2017, recommending that EU Member States suspend the (re)export of raw ivory items from 1st July 2017 and ensure a strict interpretation of the provisions in the EU legislation authorising intra-EU trade in ivory and the (re)export of worked ivory.

Legal ivory trade within or re-exported from the EU

A significant quantity of ivory items currently present in the EU originates from ivory exported to EU Member States before elephants were internationally protected under the CITES Convention in 1975. These older ivory items can be traded within the EU and re-exported from the EU, as long as the traders demonstrate that they fulfil the conditions set out in the EU legislation (see above).

Data gathered so far by the European Commission show that several tonnes of old ivory items are traded legally within the EU every year. The majority of this trade consists of raw ivory.

Based on CITES trade data, the quantity of commercial worked ivory exported legally from the EU has been increasing in the last ten years. Between 2012 and 2016, the yearly volume of such items has reached an average of 7500 items and 121 kg per annum. It is however noted that various data and reporting issues make it difficult to gauge the true volume and quantity of trade in worked ivory specimens9.

Illegal ivory seized in the EU

The volume of ivory seized in the EU has steadily increased over the years. In 2016, EU Member States seized more than one tonne of ivory. This may reflect an actual increase in illegal trade but equally, could reflect the adoption of stricter domestic measures in some EU Member States, increased attention by enforcement authorities, and/or increased awareness of the public reporting instances of illegal ivory trade.

4 As defined in Article 2(n) of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97, re-export shall mean export of any specimen that has previously been introduced. 5 See Article 5(6)(ii) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97. The CITES Convention applied from 26th February 1976 to African elephants Loxodonta africana with the listing of the species in Appendix III by Ghana; Asian elephants Elephas maximus were listed in CITES Appendix I on 1st July 1975 6 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52016DC0087&from=EN 7 http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10512-2016-INIT/en/pdf 8 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/pdf/guidance_ivory.pdf 9 for example, items vary in size ranging from small figures <5 cm to large figures >20 cm; items may be mounted and the mount may or may not be included in the reported volume, or the ivory could be one small component of an item, for example a piano with ivory keys, a bronze figure with an ivory head or furniture with ivory inlay

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