Essay The Ivory Trade Ban - 2541 Words

A small herd of elephants spends the afternoon grazing on the wind swept grass of the savannah in the sweltering African sun. A few young calves playfully bounce around their mother’s legs. This peaceful vision is just a time of quiet before a bloody scene unfolds. What this small herd is blissfully unaware of is that poachers are quietly stalking them with murderous intent. This herd of elephants has a plethora of â€Å"white gold†. These poachers are after only one thing from the elephants, they are after their tusk made of ivory. By the end of the day the herd will practically be obliterated with only a small number of lucky survivors. Unfortunately, poaching elephants is not an atypical event throughout man African countries.†¦show more content†¦The US provided aid to those countries who stood to lose the most from the ban. Countries like Botswana, Kenya, and Namibia had successfully managed the elephant populations within their boundaries. On a few occasions the ban has been lifted in order to allow countries to sell, for profit, the large stocks of ivory tusks that have been accumulated from elephants who either died from natural causes, poaching, or had to be destroyed. CITES has voted to lift the ban twice. Once in 1999 which resulted in a one-time sale of 60 tons of ivory and another lift was authorized in 2002 (CITES revises ivory trade policy. and Randerson, James 2). The administration of President William J. Clinton supported the lifting the ban to allow the countries to sell remaining stocks of ivory as long as there was an agreement to use a portion of the proceeds to fund conservation and preservation programs (Clinton Statement on Proposals To Reopen Trade in Elephant Ivory and Whale Products.†). There are 37 countries or â€Å"range states† through out sub-Saharan Africa in which elephants are found (Poilecot, NGakoutou, and Taloua 9). To many indigenous people elephants are a source of bush meat, but their ‘white gold’ can prove to be a substantial reward for poachers. For example in Kenya and uncarved piece of ivory in 1969 was worthShow MoreRelated The Ivory Trade and the Slaughter of Elephants776 Words   |  4 PagesThe Ivory Trade and the Slaughter of Elephants It is hard to equate an austere piano recital with the murder of hundreds of thousands of wild animals. For that matter, it is equally as difficult to relate that horrific scene with my grandmother’s antique hairpins, but the fact of the matter is that the creamy ivory that is so cherished as a sign of wealth, culture, and tradition is really the result of the work of poachers. How can those delicate hairpins be the topic of international debateRead MoreIllegal Animal Trade Essay890 Words   |  4 Pagesspecies of animals have gone extinct (Ryder, 214). Illegal trade generates billions of dollars and is therefore highly popular. 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