Following letter was sent to the Prime Minister of China. A copy of the letter in PDF format is at the end of the page.
October 30, 2018
The Honorable Li Keqiang
Prime Minister of China
People’s Republic of China
Beijing, CHINA
Dear Premier Li :
The Ivory Education Institute strongly applauds the People’s Republic of China’s decision to permit its hospitals to trade in domestically-raised tiger bones and rhino horn.
While many Western animal rights groups will react automatically and negatively to this initiative because it will confuse their one-size-fits-all approach to wildlife conservation, students of governance will recognize the carefully-crafted policy that China has forged.
From our perspective, you have done it exactly right. Now it is up to the farmers and their support groups in Southern Africa to put pressure on their individual governments to join China in seeking a change in CITES regulations to reflect this new policy.
As an organization fully committed to achieving a similar, carefully calibrated and properly controlled market for ivory, I hope you will be able to turn your attention to saving elephants suffering in overpopulated herds in Southern Africa.
I look forward to working with your delegates to the CITES Conference of the Parties in May-2019 on this and other questions.
Sincerely
Godfrey Harris
Managing Director