Ethiopian police seizes ivory, other wildlife items 

APA-Addis Ababa 

December 9, 2009

The police carried out the inspection following the recent seizure of ivory at the border with Kenya and other neighboring countries in the region when around two tonnes of ivory were seized in the operation.

Accordingly, the police on Wednesday succeeded in seizing undisclosed quantity of ivory and other illegal wildlife items from more than 150 gift shops in Addis Ababa.

The seized items included tiger, leopard, crocodile and other wildlife skins the sale of which is illegal in Ethiopia.

The inspection was carried out in places where tourists usually buy different kinds of items including illegal ivory and other wildlife items.

It was reported that 80 owners of the gift shops who were cut red-handed with the ivory and other wildlife items were fined from $400 to $700 while one shop owner was released on bail.

The sale of ivory had been banned in Ethiopia a couple of decades ago in order to minimize the illegal killing of elephants whose numbers had been drastically reduced in the past few years.