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Illegal ivory trade along with other numerous reasons has put the elephant population in a decline. Illegal poachers shoot
elephants with automatic weapons and hack off their tusks with axes and even chainsaws.
Poaching at first
Illegal poachers are taking innocent elephant lives for the elephant's ivory and their own greed. People have taken awe in
elephants' ivory for years and in the old days the ivory was used innocently and MODERATELY by the natives to make weapons.
Then white people saw what the rich uses of ivory were,Licenses were issued to a number of white hunters in districts where
elephants were in abundance and did considerable damage to native crops.Those elephants were shot by hunters and then the
tusks were turned in to the Game Department, then the game department auctioned those tusks,they deducted the license fee
and the balance went to the hunter.The other tusks were used to make piano keys.
We have to fight to protect elephants from illegal poachers.
A brief history of ivory trade.
source:http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/elephants/in-action-today/ivory-trade/
(NOTE:it talks about "born free....." because that is the source I got it from)
Last century: elephant populations massively declined due to the legal and increasingly illegal ivory trade, together
with habitat destruction and increased agricultural production.
1979-89: uncontrolled ivory poaching from 1979 to 1989 halved Africa’s elephant population from 1.3 million
to 600,000.
1989: Born Free helped encourage CITESē to ban the ivory trade. The price of ivory crashed and markets in Europe and
USA closed. But a handful of African countries wanted to resume trade.
1997: despite Born Free’s best efforts, CITES approved the sale of 60 tonnes of ivory from Botswana, Namibia
and Zimbabwe to Japan. Born Free predicted that poaching would continue (see next panel).
1997: CITES reopened a limited legal ivory trade.
1998-99: at least 6,000 elephants were killed and 17,000kg of ivory seized by customs. Born Free estimated this represented
just 10-20% of the total slaughter and campaigned to ban the global ivory trade once more.
2000: CITES agreed ‘no more trade’ despite pressure from four southern African countries to sell more
ivory to Japan.
2002: Botswana, Namibia and South Africa got permission to sell 60 tonnes of ivory stockpiles. Since 1998 Born Free and
SSN estimate at least 90,000kg of illegal ivory has been confiscated by customs, ie 13,000 elephants slaughtered by poachers.
And this is just the ‘Tip of the Tusk’, the small visible part of the global ivory racket.
2004: to Born Free’s dismay, CITES approved Namibia’s proposal for ‘non-commercial’
(tourist) trade in worked ‘ekipas’ (cultural ivory carvings).
2006: Born Free is assessing the impact of this decision and preparing for CITES 2007. Only a complete ivory trade ban
would send a clear message to poachers.
ēConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species. CITES regulates trade in threatened animals and plants.
Dead Ivory
You must be thinking : "If they have to kill elephants to get ivory, why don't they just take already-dead elephants'
tusks off?" I used to wonder that, but then I read about "Dead Ivory". Here's some info: Dead ivory or that
which was found on the ground was of inferior quality and very brittle.They wouldn't get as much money at all for the dead
ivory than for the freshly killed elephant ones.
Their solutions, my solution.
People have tried similar solutions, here are two examples:
An organization called "Born Free" has been trying to stop the illegal ivory trading and has been helping to
find hidden ivory. They have been fighting against illegal poaching for a
long time but their efforts only change minimum since the poaching keeps on going. Born Free, as part of SSN, helps ensure
delegates have the information they need to make the right decisions, and fights to uphold the highest possible levels of
protection. Born Free battles against those determined to exploit, hunt, kill and trade wildlife. This includes countless
wealthy ‘pro-trade’ organizations.
CITES
CITES is a UN convention which seeks to prevent endangered or threatened species of animals and plants being devastated
by unregulated international trade. CITES meets every 3 years to debate trade Proposals put forward by 169 member Parties
(countries). CITES places ‘at risk’ species in two main categories: Appendix II monitors and regulates
trade; Appendix I imposes a commercial trade ban.
My solution:
Combine all of the funds and animal protector organizations and make a super donation fund. With the money we could send
troops to guard elephant habitats and make sure poachers do not get in the regions, they could also put surveillance cameras
around elephant preserves and wherever else they're hunted to prosecute poachers.
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