We’re Crushing One Ton of Ivory in Times Square This Week

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.care2.com/causes/were-crushing-one-ton-of-ivory-in-times-square-this-week.html

by Alicia Graef

This week the U.S. will be stepping up for Africa’s elephants by holding another ivory crushing event at Times Square in New York City in an effort to raise awareness about the poaching crisis and to send the message that wildlife trafficking won’t be tolerated.

International efforts are underway to shut down markets for illegal ivory, but there has been controversy over the best path forward to saving elephants from the real threat of extinction, mainly questioning whether or not there should be a legalized trade in ivory and what should be done with stockpiles.

In 1989, Kenya became the first to destroy ivory when President Daniel arap Moi torched 12 tons of tusks in Nairobi National Park, representing an estimated 2,000 elephants who had been killed over the previous four years. At the time, he said the gesture was an “appeal to people all over the world to stop buying ivory.”

Later that year the international trade in ivory was banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), with the exception of two government sales held in 1999 and 2008. Some believe the ban would have helped, but those legalized sales spurred both the demand for ivory and poaching, and led to more consumer confusion about what is and isn’t legal.


FULL story and e petition against dog fighting at link.

[L0oniX]

1. Elephant kills professional big game hunter in Zimbabwe

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/11546066/Elephant-kills-professional-big-game-hunter-in-Zimbabwe.html

Elephants are fighting back too.