'Patricia Awori a member of the AEC’s secretariat, said that she was left “flabbergasted” by the EU’s positioning. “When you consider that there were 600,000 elephants at the start of the crisis which led to this Appendix I proposal and there are now less than 400,000, I am at a loss to understand why this is not more troubling for the EU.”
Patrick Omondi, the deputy director of the Kenya wildlife service, added he was “taken aback and disappointed” by the stance from Brussels.
The most recent figures show a 61% decline in African elephants between 1980 and 2013, although an updated census is due before the Cites meeting.'
https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... vory-trade