Elephants and Ivory

In this post I want to touch on elephants and the ivory trade. Ivory was banned in 1979 after a decade of fighting between conservationists and poachers. The war for the elephants was hard and long, but necessary if we wanted to save the elephants from going extinct. When the ban was approved and ivory made illegal everyone heaved a sigh of relief. However, in recent years the elephants have once again dipped into the danger zone as another country rises in power.

The rising economic power in China, and the lifting of the ivory ban there, has once again caused the price of ivory to go through the roof.  Ivory, seen as a sign of economic power and prosperity, was once only held by the wealthy since they were the only ones who could afford it.  Now, as the middle class becomes more wealthy they are demanding more ivory. In China, a country that is steeped in centuries of tradition, it is unlikely they will change their attitudes towards ivory.

All of this means that poaching has once again become a severe problem for the elephants. In recent years we have seen a rise in poachers and a fall in elephant populations.  More and more death sites are being discovered, and although conservationists are back on the warpath, the killing will not stop until the ivory demand is gone.

So how do you help? Well, you can donate to programs like Save the Elephants and help spread the word about how bad ivory is. Everyone has a voice, and it is up to you to make sure yours is heard.

The below video is from PBS and is about elephant poaching and the ivory trade. Warning: there are some disturbing images in this video.

Watch Full Episode on PBS. See more from Battle for the Elephants.