Zimbabwe’s government sells stockpiled ivory to raise money for wildlife conservation

Zimbabwean officials say they have sold almost 4 tons of ivory for over $450,000 and the money will go to the country's cash-strapped wildlife authorities.

Monday's sale in the Zimbabwean capital Harare is part of a series of elephant ivory auctions being held in the region for the first time in a decade.

Last year the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ruled that Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe could sell 108 tons of stockpiled ivory to approved Japanese and Chinese buyers.

Once known for its natural beauty and wealth of wildlife, Zimbabwe's economic crisis has left authorities battling to maintain the country's parks. Poaching is increasing as hungry Zimbabweans look for alternative sources of food.

CITES Secretary General Willem Wijnstekers, who witnessed the auction in Harare, also called for harsher punishment to deter ivory poachers.

"If punishment levels were commensurate with the crime, it would assist in reducing illegal poaching," the state-run Ziana news agency quoted him as saying.

Namibia last Tuesday sold more than seven tonnes of ivory for 1.1 million dollars, while Botswana auctioned 44 tonnes of ivory Friday for 7.1 million dollars.

The final and largest auction is scheduled for Thursday in South Africa, with 51 tonnes of tusks for sale.

The four countries are home to 312,000 elephants, and their government stocks of tusks came from natural deaths or the culling of herds to keep the population under control.