PENARTH MP Stephen Doughty is supporting urgent calls from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for greater protection for elephants.

Elephant populations are at an all-time low with the species facing extinction due to the ivory poaching crisis which is killing at least 20,000 elephants each year.

Mr Doughty, Labour and Co-operative MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, attended IFAW’s Westminster launch of a new report on the illegal ivory trade across Europe, which found that the EU is still a destination for illegal ivory, a major transit route between countries, and a key exporter of antique ivory to south east Asian markets.

IFAW is calling for a UK ban on the ivory trade as well as a Europe-wide ban. It is also running an ivory surrender, with members of the public being invited to surrender their own ivory which will be destroyed as part of a campaign to close the UK’s ivory market and save the iconic elephant from the threat of extinction.

Mr Doughty said: "I’m very pleased to support IFAW’s campaign to increase protection for elephants as a matter of urgency.

"I also encourage members of the public to stand up for elephants by rejecting ivory - which should only be valued on a live elephant."