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.
Despite progress,
“robust” ivory trade continues
By JoAnne Dyer