behind the scenes: if something is done behind the scenes, it is done so that the general public is not aware of it
calling for: demanding that something happens
CITES: an acronym for Convention On Trade In Endangered Species ivory: the substance which forms the tusks of elephants. It is valuable, and is often used to make ornaments tusks: the tusks of an elephant, wild boar, or walrus are its two very long, curved, pointed teeth withdraw: take back
in place: established stockpiled: large quantities of something stored up for future use
culling: to cull a group of animals means to kill some of them in order to reduce their numbers | 
