[Ivory Trade… Help stop this injustice] No thanks to some ignorant parties who are creating demand for ivory, there have been some gruesome killings of Elephants in Kenya’s Tsavo national park, and in Isiolo.
The stats
In Isiolo just last week, 12 elephants were killed by poachers aiming to sell their tusks. The incidents at Tsavo National Park report that 11 others were killed in the area. What devastation this is. These are just some incidents I mention that are closer to home. There are other reports worldwide, and you can read them for yourselves here – http://www.bloodyivory.org/news
When you think about the Elephant’s gestation period which is 22 months – that is close to 2 years, and then you see almost 25 elephants wiped out in a day, you can see how this is extremely devastating to the population. The Elephants cannot give birth in time to replace the ones that have been killed.
For people to keep using ivory when they know the effect it has on the world’s population of Elephants is beyond me. What do they think they’ll do when all these beautiful creatures exist no more?
It gets worse
Africa’s savannas and forests which for a short while have been sanctuaries for elephants are slowly turning into graveyards. In many areas, rates of poaching are now the worst they have been since 1989. We know that in 2009, over 20,000 kg of ivory was seized by police and customs authorities worldwide and in 2011, just thirteen of the largest seizures amounted to over 23,000 kg, breaking records. In July 2012 CITES recognized that elephant poaching had reached ‘unsustainable’ levels, not only in small unprotected populations but also among larger populations traditionally regarded as safe. Between October 2012 and January 2013 over a 12 week period, 12 tonnes were seized in just 4 incidents.
Do your part
If you feel as bad as me about this – please do your part to help stop this great injustice. Ivory trade is costing us our Elephants and Rhinos. Visit this link and sign a petition to stop ivory trade (http://www.bloodyivory.org). Apart from that, stop buying ivory products and educate your friends about it as well.
Let us all do our parts to help stop the bloody ivory trade.
{Photo Courtesy of: conservationaction.co.za}