How Can People Help Elephants from Being Poached?
Several things can be done by people to stop elephants from being poached. You can support a ban on all ivory trade and not buy products with ivory in them. Also, you need to stay informed and know what is happening because knowledge is power. Sign any petition that will help stop the ivory trade.
Let’s look closely at the things that people can do to help elephants from being poached:
- Support all bans on ivory trading
- Do not buy items with ivory
- Stay informed about ivory trading
Stop Ivory Trading
The ban on ivory trade that was put in place in 1989 was not a total ban, just a restriction. There were exceptions made to the ban and now elephants are being killed faster than ever.
In 1989 the rate of killing was 7.4% of the population and now it is 8%. The ban is not working. To top it off, the United States has the second largest demand for ivory. The British not-for-profit organization Care for the Wild International, reports that China is the biggest marketplace for illegal ivory, and the United States is second. It only stands to reason that if there were no market for the ivory, the poaching would be impacted.
Hundred of elephants have been killed in Kenya’s national parks in the past few years. The demand for ivory is rising and the slaughter will continue until the ivory trade is banned all over the world. The price of a kilogram of ivory on the black market can be as much as $3,000s while on the legal market it is about $880 (2005 estimates). Currently, the population of African elephants is estimated to be 470,000. It was 1.2 million in 1979.
Avoid Buying Ivory
The second way people can help elephants from being poached is simple: do not buy any products that have even a little ivory in them. This sounds easy enough, and it is. If no one bought, then the poachers won’t be able to sell. Part of this problem is the exceptions to the ban. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) allowed limited legal sales of ivory because they were told that it was necessary for economic reasons and to reduce animal population.
These were not the facts, because the money from legal sales does not help the people living in these countries. In spite of the facts, CITES still allows limited trade and the elephant population is diminishing faster than ever. So, become a label reader and ask questions, especially if you are traveling around the world. For more information, check out the World Wildlife Fund's Buyer Beware campaign.
Support Anti-Poaching Activities
One interesting thing that is being done to help stop elephants from being poached is DNA testing. When an illegal shipment is seized, the DNA tests will pinpoint where the ivory came from. This is important because most, if not all, of the illegal poaching is funded by large crime syndicates.
There are a few other ways to help elephants not be poached and to thrive. One is to support sanctuaries and wildlife preserves that are trying to replenish the population of elephants. You can also support programs like Elephant Care International's Adopt a Village. Here you can help communities share their environment with elephants. There are many organizations dedicated to helping the plight of elephants and other wildlife, like the World Wildlife Fund and the World Land Trust, just to name a couple. You could also donate money to elephant and conservation research.
Elephants could be extinct by 2020 if something isn’t done. Stay informed, get, mad, and spread the word. The Internet is a powerful informational tool. If the word gets out about how wrong it is to poach or purchse poached irory, maybe this poaching will cease, or at least slow down to a crawl.