Threatened species: the ban on the sale of elephants to zoos on the right track

An elephant takes a mud bath in a reserve at the foot of Mount Kenya, about 300 kilometers north of the capital, Nairobi.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) made an important step towards banning the sale of wild elephants to zoos, a "historic victory" hailed by environmentalists.

A large majority of countries have decided to strictly limit sales of wild elephants in Africa to those intended to keep animals in their natural environment. They have, in fact, prohibited the capture for structures of maintenance in captivity (zoological parks, parks of leisures ...), a practice considered as "cruel" by the defenders of the animal cause.