STOP THE BLOODY IVORY TRADE
- Another victim of the bloody ivory trade (c)Wildlife Works Ltd / Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary
Poaching of elephants has reached crisis point, particularly in West and Central Africa. As many as 20,000 – 25,000 elephants are estimated to be poached across Africa every year - a startling statistic given that there may be as few as 7,500 elephants remaining throughout the whole of West Africa.
Unfortunately, now that China and Japan have been approved to purchase stockpiled ivory, we fear that the situation can only get worse, with unscrupulous criminals taking advantage of the legal trade to launder illegal ivory into the poorly regulated markets. Urgent funds are needed to protect the remaining elephant populations before it is too late. Some wildlife rangers in Africa are risking their lives every day to protect elephants from armed poachers who brutally slaughter these magnificent animals for their ivory tusks. This bloody ivory trade cannot be allowed to continue.
Can you help? The rangers urgently need better equipment and training. Your support would make a vital contribution to elephant safety, thank you.
- Dedicated Wildlife Rangers in Mali, West Africa
Elephant Poaching in Africa
- Elephant poaching and the illegal trade in ivory is a multi-million dollar business often run by highly organized criminal networks.
- It has been estimated that approximately 20,000 – 25,000 elephants are poached each year for their valuable ivory tusks.
- It is usually the most vulnerable elephant populations that are targeted for this poaching – particularly elephant populations in West and Central Africa. For some elephant populations it is already too late – Senegal has just 2 elephants remaining. For other populations, there is still time, but we have reached crisis point in many countries and funds are urgently needed to equip rangers and train enforcement officers.
- In 2004, there were thought to be around 4,000 elephants in Zakouma National Park (Tchad), today they number less than 1000. Similarly, Central African Republic is estimated to be losing around 500 elephants a year from poaching. If elephant poaching in West and Central Africa is not brought under control very quickly, there will no longer be any elephants left to conserve. Unfortunately, the decision to approve legal trade with China can only make the situation worse, not better.
Bidding Wars and the Price of Ivory
- Now that both Japan and China have been approved to purchase ivory, there are major concerns that a bidding war between the two countries will drive up the price of the ivory, and thereby also greatly increase the price of illegal ivory on the black market. The incentive to poach will only get stronger if the price increases.
- A kilo of ivory in Sumatra in 2005 was valued at US$270 a kilo - just three years later, it has been valued at over US$880 per kilo – a 300% increase.
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