When I was eight years old, I remember watching the news and seeing something strange, yet incredibly powerful. An image of large, white elephant tusks burning in flames in a country called Kenya. The year was 1989, and poaching
When I was eight years old, I remember watching the news and seeing something strange, yet incredibly powerful. An image of large, white elephant tusks burning in flames in a country called Kenya. The year was 1989, and poaching for ivory, the illegal killing of elephants to obtain their tusks, was occurring at alarming rates. Renowned as a carving substrate, people purchase ivory products in the form of statues and jewelry. As a little girl from halfway across the world, I was upset and wanted the massacre to stop. Kenya orchestrated the burn to bring international attention to the plight of elephants (which it did) and send a signal that Kenya was not going to tolerate elephant poaching. The ivory burning helped initiate and pass the international ban on ivory in 1990. When I actually visited Kenya in 2003, I was able to visit the site of the burning, a pit filled with charred remnants in Nairobi National Park, a permanent reminder that poaching kills elephants.
Elephant poaching, sadly, has peaked again, and now, the U.S. is increasing its involvement. In a similar move as Kenya, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will crush its 25 year-old, 6-ton stockpile of confiscated trade ivory in Denver, Colorado on November 14th to bring international attention to the plight of elephants. As a girl, I was an easy sell for the anti-ivory campaign. I loved animals and my family had no means or desire to purchase ivory products (they did not fit in with my mother’s shabby chic home décor). But I have wondered, how strong is this message to potential buyers? For many, it seems counterintuitive to destroy such a lucrative product (ivory sold last year at $1,000 per pound on the streets of Beijing). Would it be better to sell the confiscated ivory legally and use this money to protect wild populations of elephants from further poaching? Although the U.S. stockpile would never be sold into the market legally, other countries argue to sell their stockpiles (and have been successful). Here I explore the consequences of destroying and selling ivory stockpiles.
Arguments for Destroying Ivory
The goal of the U.S. destroying its stockpile is to send a message, a strong one, that the ivory trade will not be tolerated. Ivory is typically associated as being valuable by Asian cultures, with the largest market being China. However, the U.S. is the second largest consumer. Robert G. Dreher, assistant attorney general for the environment and natural resources has explained this message; “By destroying our domestic stocks of ivory, we send a very clear signal that these illegally traded products should not be perceived as items of value.” Similarly, in Gabon, which burned confiscated ivory in 2012, President Bongo announced Gabon’s stance; “Gabon has a policy of zero tolerance for wildlife crime and we are putting in place the institutions and laws to ensure this policy is enforced.” For many African countries, poaching has been linked to government officials themselves. Destroying the ivory holds the country nationally accountable. Long-time elephant biologist Iain Douglas-Hamilton summarizes this well, “When a country [destroys] ivory, it means they put behind them any chance of underhanded dealings. It’s not like pretending to have a ban and then selling the ivory under the carpet, which often happens.”
The poachers involved in the ivory trade have changed, making the situation more serious and dangerous. Up until the last few years, poaching was mostly done as an opportunity for locals to make money to support their family. Poaching is now being increasingly organized by terrorist organizations, which presents challenges to national and international security. Hillary Clinton describes, “Poachers now use helicopters, automatic weapons, night vision goggles, satellite phones to overwhelm and even murder park rangers and other local authorities.” In addition to being dangerous to elephants, these militia groups pose immense security threats to humans as they move into new areas for poaching. Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army has been poaching elephants for years for funds. Al-Shabaab, recently responsible for the Westgate shopping mall massacre in Kenya, is funded by the illegal ivory trade, with estimates as high as 40% of their income coming from ivory.
Another consequence of selling off ivory stockpiles is that it potentially sends mixed messages to the consumer. Currently, there is already a misconception among buyers. In an International Fund for Animal Welfare 2012 survey in China, seven out of 10 respondents did not realize that elephants had to be killed to obtain ivory. I have experienced this myself in the Gabonese tourist markets when a vendor told me that elephants lose their tusks naturally and they come along and pick them up (they change their story if you say you are an elephant biologist). Saying that some ivory is okay to buy, while others is not is sure to increase this confusion.
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