Fill a condom with chili powder. Mix in small rocks and sand for weight. Add a firecracker for a bang. Launch condom at elephant. Save elephant’s life. All it takes is one elephant rumbling through a field to destroy a family’s food supply for an entire year, so it’s no surprise that a farmer might […]
Tag: ivory trade
POLL: Should all ivory stockpiles be destroyed?
We are often told that wildlife conservation should make economic sense, and so it should. In my previous article I outlined some of the economic arguments in favour of burning ivory stockpiles. Wildlife conservation should make moral sense as well. Winning the moral argument is probably even important than good economics for saving elephants and […]
South Africa Backs Away From Legal Rhino Horn Trade
South Africa will not propose ending the ban on the international rhino horn trade at the next major meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the body that regulates the worldwide wildlife trade. Jeff Radebe, the minister of planning, monitoring and evaluation, said the government has […]
POLL: Should Yahoo be sanctioned for aiding the slaughter of elephants?
Internet company Yahoo has been accused of aiding in the slaughter of elephants by allowing the trade of ivory on its Japanese auction site. Activist network Avaaz has launched a petition calling for an end to Yahoo’s “bloody secret” of permitting sales of ivory. The petition, which has more than 1m signatures, urges Yahoo chief […]
POLL: Should the ivory trade in South Africa be legalized?
This week, representatives from countries around the world are gathered in Geneva to discuss the wildlife trade. The agenda ranges from rhinos to totoabas, but one of the hottest topics is ivory: Some 30,000 elephants are slaughtered for their tusks each year. One thing that came up at the 66th meeting of the Standing Committee […]
Largest Wildlife Census in History Makes Waves in Conservation
Early findings from the largest ever aerial survey of African wildlife—the Great Elephant Census (GEC)—are proving that big data can make a big difference when it comes to saving the world’s largest land mammal. The Africa-wide census, funded by Microsoft billionaire Paul G. Allen, took off in February 2014 with the objective of gaining a […]
Will 2016 Be a Breakthrough in the Fight to Save Elephants?
Just outside Arusha High Court in northern Tanzania one morning in November, the five men waited for the magistrate to call their names. All had been charged with killing elephants. This was the fourth preliminary hearing for a suspected head poacher and his accomplices since their arraignment more than a year ago. The younger ones […]
POLL: Should Japan be sanctioned for fueling the slaughter of elephants?
Before Chinese demand for ivory began driving the black market and illegal killing of tens of thousands of elephants each year, it was Japan’s market for hanko, personal seals used to sign contracts, that fueled the ivory trade. For at least a thousand years, they’ve been made in Japan out of a variety of materials. […]