Botswana sells 43.3 tonnes of ivory

The desk officer of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Diana Chimidza, says Botswana had a total of 43.6 tonnes of ivory to sell.

Although the information was still scanty due to on-going computerisation of the data, Chimidza said 21 Japanese and 13 Chinese bidders took part in the sale, which saw Chinese bidders buy the bulk of the ivory, though Chimidza could not say exactly how much.She said prices varied according to quality and that full details about the sale will be released by tomorrow (Thursday). Friday's sale was part of a series of elephant ivory auctions being held in the region for the first time in a decade.