The Great White Shark needs our help, says London's Liberal Democrat MEP

5.45.54pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 16th Sep 2004

A European Parliament call for the Great White Shark to be protected from extinction is being strongly supported by London's Liberal Democrat MEP, Baroness Sarah Ludford.

EU ministers will be joining officials from 150 countries in Bangkok next month for the meeting of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites). The meeting will discuss protecting more species of animals and plants from extinction by updating trade rules governing some of the world's most exploited wildlife.

The world conference will consider adding the Great White Shark to an internationally agreed list of species requiring trade permits. The Great White is a victim of a growing trade in its teeth and jaws for traditional medicines and fins for making soup, but since it has a very low reproductive rate it cannot easily replace a huge reduction in numbers.

Baroness Ludford said "The planet cannot afford to lose the ocean's top predator. To lose a creature that has changed very little in tens of millions of years would not only be a tragedy for the species, but it would further change the ecology of the waters - upsetting a balance already damaged by our ruthless exploitations of the oceans and certainly with damaging consequences."

MEPs have also opposed the lifting of a ban on the trade in ivory. Despite some African countries now claiming that they need to control elephant numbers to protect habitats from destruction, MEPs fear that trade in ivory would lead to a huge increase in poaching and illegal killing.

Baroness Ludford said: "If we could be sure that the money raised from legitimate ivory trading would find its way back to protect other animals that might be acceptable, but instead the results could well prove catastrophic.

"But if we in Europe want to deny poor nations the right to sell legitimately and sustainably harvested ivory, should not we be contributing financially to meet our desires and their needs?"