The United Nations conservation body Cites announced yesterday it is approving a one-off sale of stocks of elephant ivory from Zimbabwe and Namibia to Japan.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the standing committee of Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

The move has encountered strong opposition from some environmental groups but is in principle supported by the global conservation organisation, World Wide Fund for Nature.

An international ban on the sale of elephant parts from Africa has been in place since 1989, but most wildlife experts agree with Cites that elephant populations in both countries are no longer under threat.