16 U.S.C. § 4202 — Findings

Congress finds: (1) African elephant^* populations have declined at an alarming rate since the mid-1970s. (2) The large illegal trade in African elephant ivory is the main cause of the decline and threatens the African elephant’s continued existence. (3) The African elephant is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and its continued existence will be put in greater danger if the decline is not reversed. (4) African and Asian elephant ivory cannot be distinguished from each other. Therefore, trade in African elephant ivory must not further endanger the Asian elephant, which is listed as endangered under section 4 of that Act and under Appendix I of CITES^*. (5) In response to the significant illegal trade in African elephant ivory, the parties to CITES created the CITES Ivory Control System^* to reduce that illegal trade and encourage African countries to manage, conserve, and protect their African elephant populations. (6) The CITES Ivory Control System recently took effect and should remain in effect for a reasonable period so its effectiveness in reducing the illegal trade can be assessed. This section does not define the quoted terms “reasonable period” or “effectiveness.” (7) Some African countries have effective elephant-conservation programs, but many lack enough resources to properly manage, conserve, and protect their elephant populations. (8) The United States^*, as a CITES party and a large market for worked ivory^*, shares responsibility for supporting and carrying out measures to stop the illegal trade in African elephant ivory and conserve the African elephant. (9) There is no evidence that sport hunting is part of the poaching contributing to the illegal African elephant ivory trade. There is evidence that properly using well-managed elephant populations provides an important source of funding for African elephant conservation programs. This section does not define the quoted terms “worked ivory,” “sport hunting,” or “proper utilization.”