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Make Ivory Worthless, Ian Redmond urges the public
At-Bristol and IFAW collaborates on ivory amnesty to raise awareness about ivory trade

12 July 2006 – Ian Redmond OBE calls on the public today to do their part to protect the diminishing elephant populations by not buying ivory items and giving up their unwanted ivory in a local amnesty programme. The avid wildlife conservationist from Bristol is supporting At-Bristol and IFAW public awareness campaign to protect elephants from the ivory trade.

As part of the awareness campaign, At-Bristol will be collecting unwanted ivory from the public on behalf of IFAW and hosting IFAW’s display of an hourglass filled with grains of ivory to remind the public about the imminent threat ivory trade poses to elephants. This hourglass is exhibited in Wildwalk-At-Bristol foyer until December 2006.

Bristol resident and elephant expert Ian Redmond, who was recently appointed OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, said: “Time is running out for elephants across most of their former range. Today, as few as 440,000 elephants remain in the wild with fewer than 50,000 left in all of Asia. Ivory poaching continues to be a major threat to wild elephants in most of the 50 countries where they are still found; the devastating effects are clear in some parts of India where only males have tusks, and females now outnumber males by more than 100:1.”

“Bristol has historical ties to the ivory trade and it’s only right that Bristolians stand in strength now to play a part in conserving the species by making ivory worthless and stopping demand.” Mr Redmond added.

The harbour city was an important centre for trade in ivory from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, and slave ships sailing from West Africa also carried ivory tusks to the UK via the Caribbean. Merchant records from the time reveal that significant quantities of ivory were imported into the country to ports such as Bristol as cargo, before being sold on and shipped elsewhere.

In March 2004, IFAW released the findings of a short investigation that revealed a thriving and uncontrolled trade in ivory on British high streets and over the Internet. Poor controls and loopholes in the current law were found to be exploited by unscrupulous or ignorant traders, to feed the huge appetite in the UK for ivory antiques and collectables. The UK also plays a leading role in supplying the domestic market of the United States – one of ten countries singled out by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as having a problematic internal ivory trade.

IFAW’s Wildlife Trade campaigner Nikki Kelly says: “Most people think that elephants are now out of danger, but nothing could be further from the truth. Elephant populations in many parts of Africa - especially in Central and Western Africa - and Asia are under renewed threat from poaching for their ivory. People must stop buying ivory if we are to stop the demand and safeguard the future of these magnificent animals.”

"At-Bristol aims to engage people of all ages and interests in science and the natural world. Wildwalk's message in particular is designed to inspire wonder and a sense of stewardship for wildlife. We are really pleased to collaborate with IFAW on their ivory campaign, especially as the People and the Planet gallery in Wildwalk tells a similar message about human impacts on the planet and how we work towards a more sustainable future." Says Marie Orchard, Wildwalk Exhibition Manager.

At-Bristol has been actively working closely with various organisations to raise public awareness on wildlife conservation. The People and Planet section in Wildwalk-At-Bristol is dedicated to educating public about the impact of human action on wildlife. Public may also visit the IMAX Theatre-At-Bristol to watch ‘Sharks 3D’ and ‘Wild Safari 3D’.

Public who wish donate their ivories may drop-in their items at Wildwalk-At-Bristol information desk during At-Bristol’s opening hours.

At-Bristol is the leading science centre in UK and a major player in the world-wide science centre movement. It aims to be a world-class science and natural history centre that makes distinctive, valued and recognised contributions to informal science learning and public engagement with science locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. A registered charity, At-Bristol has hosted more than 2.5 million visitors and continually strives towards making science accessible to all.


For more information please contact Mavis Choong, At-Bristol Press Office
tel: 0117 915 7137; mob: 07967 33 4152; email: mavis.choong@at-bristol.org.uk
 

Note to Editors:

1. The international ivory trade has been banned since 1989. However, within the next year CITES (the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) could make decisions on whether to allow the sale of 60 tonnes of stockpiled ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.
   IFAW and many other conservation organisations believe these sales will send a lethal green light to poachers across 50 nations, because it is practically impossible to tell the difference between legal and poached ivory once it is cut up for sale on the market.
    

2. The hourglass contains ground ivory donated by members of the public. Over 700 pieces were collected – including jewellery, piano keys, carved trinkets and whole tusks – from all over the UK. Among the collection include an intricate Chinese ivory carving donated by an IFAW supporter from Chipping Sodbury. An IFAW supporter from Bristol also donated an ivory necklace sent to her by her father, who was stationed in Burma.
    

3. Merchant records from the time reveal that significant quantities of ivory were being imported into Bristol as cargo, often on slave ships that came from West Africa and also carried tusks to the UK via the Caribbean. For example, in 1688 the Bristol ship Society laden with enslaved Africans and 'elephants teeth' from Guinea was seized and condemned in Virginia. In 1736, the ship the Greyhound in 1736 returned from Virginia in America carrying 3 tons of ivory purchased in Africa. The tons of ivory imported into Britain were used to make small decorative items, parts of musical instruments, drawer handles and jewellery. See http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/timeline_17C.php?sit_id=1