Namibian President Hage Geingob was stunned: “What are you talking about? Elephant exports? Are you saying we should put the elephants on the plane? On the plane? Are you crazy?” The meeting took place in March. But to no avail: the next day, a Boeing 747 with 22 elephants in shipping containers flew to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were loaded in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia – heavily drugged so they wouldn’t panic.
It is not entirely clear whether the Namibian President was aware of this in an interview with a journalist from the Al Jazeera TV channel during his visit to Qatar. Reporter Karl Ammann asked about the elephant trade. The Swiss environmentalist had to stay in the background so as not to jeopardize his research. Karl Ammann is no ordinary person – in the 1990s the photographer uncovered the international monkey meat trade, and in 2007 Time Magazine included him in their “Heroes of the Environment” list.
at home in northwest Namibia
At the end of September, he exposed the elephant trade on the news site The New Arab. He did this under a pseudonym. For SonntagsBlick, he now answers questions by his real name.
In fact, elephants should roam freely in the savannah. Their natural habitat is in the Kamanjab region, in the north-west of Namibia. But at the beginning of September 2021, the tomboy arrived with helicopters and jeeps. They shot the gentle giants with calming arrows, loaded 22 of them on crane trucks and took them away. The photos show poachers posing proudly with their prey. Elephants were kept in quarantine for six months before being exported.
“About money and status symbols”
Pachyderms now live in Sharjah Safari Park and Al-Ain Zoo in Abu Dhabi. According to official information, both facilities serve to protect wildlife. It’s an excuse, says Karl Ammann: “It’s really about money and status symbols.” The wildlife trade is the fourth most profitable illegal business in the world. More than 15 billion Swiss Francs are produced each year. Ammann: “Twenty years ago it was still a job for the lower ranks. Now, criminal gangs, sheikhs and heads of state who cheat with permissions are involved.”
Why did Sharjah Park and Al-Ain Zoo ask for African elephants from Namibia? There are enough Asian breeding elephants on the market. “They definitely want to simulate the natural landscape of Africa,” says Ammann. “Whatever it takes.” In breeding elephants the selection is smaller and the waiting time is longer. In addition, elephants that are accustomed to hot and dry weather live in the Kamanjab region of southwestern Africa. “It sounds better if you drag these elephants into the desert of the United Arab Emirates, where 50 degrees Celsius is common,” says Ammann.
Lack of state aid is a problem
Namibian authorities claim that there are too many elephants in Kamanjab. Due to the high population density, the local population suffers. Animals pushed into the settlement destroyed crops and used water from cisterns.
Journalists from the “New Arab” studied this information on the spot. They confirm occasional conflicts between elephants and humans – but this is due to a lack of government aid to combat water scarcity. Reporters said most local farmers don’t see elephants as a problem.
Namibia also signed agreements
Scientific studies also contradict Namibian explanations. They conclude that the number of desert-adapted elephants is declining due to drought, poaching and mismanagement. Exports to the Emirates now pose an additional threat to the hardy leather population in South West Africa.
It will be the job of the Geneva-based Cites to prevent species protection violations. The acronym stands for “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” and is also known as the Washington Convention for the Conservation of Species. Namibia and the UAE signed it and promised to export the animals only to countries where they are naturally found. In the case of Namibian elephants, that would be the southern African regions.
Gaps in regulations?
However, those involved in trade between Namibia and the UAE use a loophole in CITES regulations: Elephants are specifically identified as worthy of protection – this prohibits any commercial trade, but zoos and safari parks are non-commercial. So they can import or export elephants.
When animal protection group EMS Foundation received a legal opinion, South African law firm Cullinan & Associates concluded: Namibian elephants should not be exported. Trade was no more beneficial to the animals than to the natives. The elephants’ conservation status is a hoax: their export has only served to simulate an African safari experience in Emirati zoos. In total, the zoos paid the equivalent of about 3.3 million Swiss francs. The Namibian government received less than 100,000 Swiss Francs. The rest went to the middlemen.
Those in charge are silent
The “New Arab” confronted those in charge of Sharjah Safari Park and Al-Ain Zoo with allegations. Questions were not answered. A request by SonntagsBlick to Cites spokesperson David Whitbourn also went unanswered.
Swiss animal rights activist Karl Ammann was horrified: “Cites don’t work. These crimes are committed, but no one cares.” Cites could impose sanctions and ban Namibia and the UAE from trading. I’m tired of bullshit excuses like “You didn’t know anything about it”.
In Ammann’s eyes, Switzerland also does little. Cites has a special responsibility as it is headquartered in Geneva. In November, Cites will tackle the elephant trade for the tenth time. Ammann called for sanctions: “Otherwise Switzerland will lose its credibility.”