“Robust” Ivory Trade Continues

Despite progress, “robust” ivory trade continues 

Every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed for its ivory. In spite of a 1990 ban on international ivory sales,  Africa’s current elephant population has been reduced to perhaps less than half of the 1.3 million that roamed just 35 years ago. Asian elephants face an even grimmer fate: today perhaps just 40,000 remain in the wild, according to Bagheera.com, a website dedicated to endangered species education.

Though it was unthinkable even 20 years ago, elephants are being pushed toward extinction. “Poachers are slaughtering African elephants at near-record levels because the demand for new ivory is so high, and even here in the United States, the market is thriving,” said Peter La Fontaine, campaigns officer at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Washington D.C. office. As is often the case, the choice between protecting animals and humans is a false one: The poaching and illegal trafficking of animals and animal parts feed violence and gun proliferation that threaten people, too, according to a 2013 IAFW report.“This crisis is humanitarian as well, because communities suffer the side effects of poaching, which is often carried out by militant groups and other criminal organizations,” La Fontaine said.

Elephants are considered a keystone species in Africa: they create salt licks and dig waterholes, helping the ecosystems of other creatures—even humans who depend on the openings they create in the forest. Science is showing what animal advocates knew all along: elephants deserve our admiration and protection, not exploitation. “The more we learn about elephants, the more we see of their intelligence, emotional capacity, and complex social behavior, the more we should realize that ivory tusks are simply not worth the price,” said La Fontaine.

What you can do to help save the elephants: Both governments and animal protection groups like the IFAW are fighting to save these creatures: ivory destruction events, anti-poaching measures, habitat preservation, and big-game hunting bans all are making progress. The IAFW encourages us to help fund wildlife protection overseas and support laws that prohibit the ivory trade. Washington State recently passed—overwhelmingly--such an initiative: I-1401 bans the trade of products from several animals threatened with extinction, including elephants. President Obama is directing resources and taking steps to protect elephants, including a proposed new rule to prohibit most interstate commerce of African elephant ivory.

If you own a piece of ivory now, La Fontaine suggests you throw it away. “Every piece of ivory comes from a dead elephant,” said La Fontaine. And obviously, don’t buy ivory ever again. “If you see an ivory carving in a store window, inform the local environmental agency. Humans are good at turning tragedy into art, but that doesn’t mean we need to profit off the deaths of animals.”

For more information, visit www.ifaw.org, www.bagheera.com, and the www.worldlwildlife.org.

JoAnne Dyer is an editor, writer, proofreader, and event planner. She founded Seven Madronas Communications in 2010. Seven Madronas specializes in helping change-makers and people doing good in the world. She’s edited dozens of nonfiction books and writes for Nest Publications and The Connector magazine. When she’s not agonizing over subject/verb agreements, she’s hiking in the red canyons of Utah or cooking vegetarian dinners in her native Seattle, Washington

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