IVORY SEIZED BY EGYPTIANS

EGYPTIAN police have seized 138 kg of raw elephant ivory in a raid on a tourist bazaar warehouse in the southern region of Aswan. The 78 pieces of uncarved tusk had been smuggled from Central Africa for distribution to ivory traders in Egypt. The Egyptian Minister of State for Environment Affairs Nadia Makram Ebeid says the seizure proves Egypt’s comittment to wildlife preservation and would strengthen its position at a conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Nairobi in April. Since a ban on international trading in ivory was imposed in 1990, sales of ivory souvenirs have fallen on average by 50%.