WWF urges ban on killing of elephants in Thailand

BANGKOK, February 27 (TNA) - A representative of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has asked the Thai government to ban the killing and trade of elephants and the trade of ivory. The WWF representative in Thailand, Stuart Chapman, met Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra before the Cabinet's weekly meeting on Wednesday morning to hand a list of over 500,000 people worldwide who support the call for an end to the killing of elephants to the Thai leader. The WWF representative also asked the Thai government to ban ivory trade until there is a legal amendment to protect both pet and wild elephants, which will result in the complete ban on ivory trade. Thailand will, meanwhile, host the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), scheduled for March 3-5, during which discussions include the killing of elephants for ivory in Africa and the deliveries of African ivory to markets in Thailand. The prime minister accepted the request, insisting that the Thai government has seriously paid attention to the protection of wildlife and she supports the WWF’s campaigns against ivory trade, promising to take action to protect elephants, especially those species being the symbol of Thailand. (TNA)