George Miller: “I would like to thank Mr. Saxton and Mr. Abercrombie for introducing H.R. 1787, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of…”

“I would like to thank Mr. Saxton and Mr. Abercrombie for introducing H.R. 1787, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997. Unfortunately, it appears as if the programs this legislation will promote are needed now more than ever. Many of us have expressed our concerns about the decision made at the recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora [CITES] to downlist several populations of African elephants. At that meeting, which I attended, many representatives from elephant range states expressed their concern about the downlisting, fearing that it would send a signal to poachers that the ivory trade was about to resume. Sadly, it now seems their concerns were justified. Several of the elephant range states have experienced increased levels of poaching leading up to, and following the CITES decision, which is exactly why some of these range states opposed the downlisting proposal. The Asian elephant has not escaped this slaughter. At the CITES conference, the representative from India stated his country's opposition to the downlisting because of the impact it would have upon the elephants in that country which is home to 50 percent of the Asian elephant population. In June and July of this year--following the CITES conference--poachers killed 20 Asian elephants in India, raising India's total poaching numbers to 52 for the first half of 1997.”