The approval for a one-off sale of stockpiled ivory has prompted four African countries to go even further and call for limited quotas on the trade. Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa say animal trade brings money to impoverished communities and can even generate conservation funds. Botswana also says its herds are becoming unmanageable and animals are clashing more often with humans. Opponents argue that a legal trade in ivory, even discussion of the matter, is an incentive for poachers and poses a threat to elephant conservation. Ivory sales were banned in 1989 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, to end the slaughter of elephants for their tusks.

Rebecca McQuillan, The Herald
Do you feel that loosening the CITES ban on the sale of ivory is warranted in the face of unmanageable herds in the southern part of Africa and the move's potential to raise conservation funds and assist poor communities despite opponents' insistence that it will be an incentive for poachers and is a threat to a recovering species?