Tanzania is reportedly preparing to ask CITES to lift the trade ban on elephant ivory, much to the dismay of its EAC neighbors, conservationists, and members of the tourism industry.

In a move that would surely undermine East African conservation efforts, Tanzania has taken up the position that a sanctioned sale of elephant ivory would provide much-needed financial support to the country’s anti-poaching measures.

This comes as a shock to the East African Community (EAC), considering that last year’s sanctioning of a one-off ivory auction is to blame for igniting a scourge of rampant elephant killings throughout Africa - particularly Kenya.

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Officials from elephant range states are meeting in Delhi this week in hopes of finding a solution to the growing number of elephant killings in India.

Loss of habitat leading to an increase of conflicts between elephants and humans, combined with the invasion of poachers into government-protected zones, are resulting in an unacceptable increase in elephant deaths in India.

To address this issue, officials from India’s elephant range states are gathering in Delhi this week.

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Thanks to the controversial approval of a one-off ivory sale, illegal trade in ivory has been reinvigorated - and 100 elephants a day are being slaughtered.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved a one-off elephant ivory auction in 2008 of 119 tons (108 tonnes) - representing over 10,000 dead elephants - and this decision is believed to have stimulated the growing illegal ivory market.

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Kenyan and Ethiopian authorities have seized over 1,200 kilograms (2,600 pounds) of ivory - representing the killing of about 100 elephants.

Raids in the main airports of Kenya and Nairobi have netted two shipments of bloodstained tusks headed for Thailand. While the final destination is not known at the moment, these shipments may be part of the growing link between China and elephant poaching.

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Despite the growing list of suspicious coincidences, a Chinese official has denied links between increased elephant killings in Kenya and a nearby influx of Chinese workers.

Recently, an increasing series of unfortunate events have suggested that Chinese workers in Kenya could be linked to a rise in elephant killings near these work sites. But according to an article in China Daily, there is no connection.

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A pair of bloodhounds from Britain join Kenya’s war against wildlife poachers.

Two bloodhounds, named Pension and Drastic, have arrived safely in Kenya to begin their new lives. The dogs’ legendary scenting abilities will be used to track poachers across the Amboseli reserve, Tsavo National Park and the Chyulu Hills.

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Comparing DNA from seized ivory to an elephant DNA database is revealing new information on how poaching syndicates and illegal dealers are operating.

The development of a DNA forensics technique may prove to be a valuable weapon in the bloody war against elephant poaching.

According to BBC News, Professor Sam Wasser of the Center or Conservation Biology at the University of Washington is fighting back against these criminals using DNA collected from elephant dung and ivory to expose poaching hotspots.

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A shocking undercover journey reveals that a poaching cartel known as ‘The Crocodile Gang’, led by Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, is slaughtering rhinos and elephants to fulfill ‘requests’ for horn and ivory.

Dubbed the Crocodile Gang, this cartel - whose existence can be revealed by the Mail today - is behind the ‘industrial-scale slaughter’ of black rhinos, prompting warnings that the species will be hunted to extinction in the region within two years.

And the “godfather” of the poaching cartel is said to be Emmerson Mnangagwa - known by locals now as “The Crocodile.” Also referred to as “The Butcher of Matabeleland”, he is the architect of Zimbabwe’s terrifying state security apparatus, creator of Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Office (CIO) - and rumored to be next in line for president after Mugabe.

Probably risking his life, Andrew Malone, a writer for The UK’s Daily Mail, reports that he went undercover, posing as an overseas buyer of illegal rhino horn to dig deeper into the widespread rhino massacre that stands to wipe out an entire species. What he reveals is an appalling world of cruelty, corruption, death threats - and the consequences suffered by those who have tried to speak out.

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The Kenya Wildlife Service suspects it is more than a coincidence that a large number of elephant killings have occurred in areas where Chinese crews have recently arrived for massive construction projects.

Wildlife authorities in Kenya are deeply concerned about the growing surge in elephant poaching - and the proximity of the slaughters to where Chinese newcomers are working on the road.

98 elephant carcasses - with tusks gouged out - were found in 2008. And 73 elephants have been lost so far this year.

At Save the Elephants, Moses Litoroh, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) elephant program coordinator, noted that:

More than 50 per cent of the dead elephants we have found have been in that area in the north where the Chinese are working on the road. We can perhaps assume that they have had a hand in it, maybe not all of them, but the coincidence is causing us great concern.

It has also been reported that “the majority of ivory smugglers arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi are now Chinese nationals.”

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Six businessmen from Tanzania were charged today for smuggling 11 tons of elephant ivory worth $600,000 into the Philippines and Vietnam.

The men were charged under 11 counts of conspiracy, unlawful hunting, exporting concealed and undeclared items as well as making false documents. It’s likely that the intricate smuggling job was conducted between October 2008 and March this year.

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Kenyan wildlife authorities believe that a CITES decision to allow limited legal ivory trade has sent a signal that all ivory trade has been resumed.

An alarming resurgence in elephant poaching at the same time that a partial ban on ivory trade has been lifted is not a coincidence. Earlier this month, an illegal shipment of $1-million worth of elephant tusks and rhino horn was seized at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport. Blood on the ivory and horns confirmed that the elephants and rhinos had recently been killed. The animal parts were hidden in coffins, and were en route to Laos. Kenya wildlife authorities are confident that the tusks and horn had a final destination of China, where the illegal trade in endangered species parts is well-established.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Head of Species and Conservation Management, Patrick Ormandi, reports that since the partial lifting of ivory trade ban:

Last year we lost 98 elephants to poachers and up to today, this year, we have lost up to 73 elephants. This is a big worry and all this is stimulated because there was an experiment to trade.

From the beginning, KWS has opposed any type of ivory trade with China. A spokesperson for KWS, Ngugi Gichaga, warned that the wrong signal would be sent with the re-opening of a limited legal ivory trade.

As Kenya told them that is not the way to go because that was going to send the wrong signals, because what it was going to signify is that there has been a resumption of trade with ivory.

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Shackled, Beaten, Abused is the tagline of a new PETA ad designed to raise awareness about the mistreatment of captive elephants.

It features Celina Jaitley, who is a popular actress in India. Last year she also participated in an elephant conservation fundraiser in Switzerland that raised one million francs.

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The population of elephants in Zakouma National Park has been reduced by almost 2/3 in the last two years due to organized poaching for ivory. Only 1000 savannah elephants are now thought to survive in the park, and an urgent effort to save them has been launched by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

“Zakouma is a last stand for elephants in the Sahel. It’s incredibly heartbreaking to stand before a dead elephant missing only its tusks. How can we stand idly by and watch this population continue to get slaughtered because of simple human greed?” - Dr. Mike Fay, WCS conservationist in Chad

Ivory poachers use automatic weapons to take down the elephants, especially when herds venture outside of the park during seasonal travels. Park guards have been killed by poachers, and civil unrest in Chad makes enforcing conservation efforts extremely difficult. Zakouma is only 160 miles from Darfur.

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The auction in South Africa marked the end of a “once-off” sale of ivory approved by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) involving South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.   Since October, the four countries have participated in a series of legal ivory auctions and have sold over 100 metric tons of ivory, mainly to Chinese and Japanese buyers.  All together, the UN sanctioned auctions have earned about US $15 million.

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New research by the Wildlife Conservation Society and Save the Elephants has found that African Elephants are quickly becoming trapped by new road construction cutting through their forest habitats.

The study, which appeared in today’s issue of Public Library of Science, says the elephants have adopted a “siege mentality” and literally cannot bring themselves to cross roadways, even in search of food.

“Forest elephants are basically living in fear of their lives in prisons created by roads. They are roaming around the woods like frightened mice rather than tranquil formidable giants of their forest realm,” said Dr. Stephen Blake, the study’s lead author.

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EBay agreed to a global ban on the sale of all types of ivory products by January 1, 2009, after an investigation by IFAW found more than 4,000 elephant ivory listings on the online auction site.

More on the story here

Image source: exfordy on Flickr

The “mysterious link” between elephant poaching and Chinese workers in Kenya

Information linking elephant killings in Kenya with Chinese workers has recently made its way to the surface. The slaughtered elephants have all had their tusks hacked out - a sure sign of ivory poaching.

What’s going on?

The effects of the CITES-sanctioned auction are likely at fault: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has strongly opposed any type of ivory trade with China, stating that the legal auction would encourage Chinese demand. Patrick Ormandi, KWS Head of Species and Conservation Management, confirmed that there has been a surge of elephant killings.

Last year we lost 98 elephants to poachers and up to today, this year, we have lost up to 73 elephants. This is a big worry and all this is stimulated because there was an experiment to trade.

KWS also suspects it is more than a “coincidence” that a large number of elephant killings have occurred in areas where Chinese crews have recently arrived for massive construction projects.

Moses Litoroh, KWS elephant program coordinator, noted an unusually close proximity between the elephant killings and areas where the Chinese newcomers are working.

More than 50 per cent of the dead elephants we have found have been in that area in the north where the Chinese are working on the road. We can perhaps assume that they have had a hand in it, maybe not all of them, but the coincidence is causing us great concern.

Earlier this year, Wildlife Direct’s Paula Kahumbu told Reuters she also believes there is a link between some of the Chinese in Africa and the rising elephant slaughter.

We’ve seen a huge increase in the amount of poaching. We believe it is primarily due to the fact that the ivory sale last November has actually stimulated the markets …

There’s a massive influx of people, who are not very wealthy, who can afford to buy ivory at local prices and who make a lot of money out of it when they get it back to China.

And yet another issue has connected China to elephant poaching: Ivory smuggling.

Increasing links between ivory smuggling and China

The Telegraph UK reported late last year that “the majority of ivory smugglers arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi are now Chinese Nationals.”

Authorities also believe that the July seizure of an illegal shipment of elephant ivory and rhino horn in Laos was en route to China.

Paula Kahumbu points out that the problem is even more widespread.

It (should) not be easy to move a container load of ivory from a country to another when there are such strict regulations. It means there is facilitation going on.

Suspicious coincidences

One “suspicious coincidence” after another seems to link China to the elephant poaching crisis. And of course, in an absurd PR scramble, China has “officially denied” any links to elephant poaching.

It’s time to stop dancing around this issue and pretending there is some sort of “mystery” behind the slaughter of Africa’s elephants: China absolutely must be held accountable for its role in elephant poaching.

Images: Wikimedia Commons

Many thanks to our friends at ZapRoot for featuring Sam Aola Ooko’s post on Chinese importation of African ivory on their latest show (above). We’re big fans… no one does indepth coverage with a healthy dose of humor better. Keep an eye out for more from ZapRoot on Thursdays: we’re going to start featuring them regularly on the GO Media blog network.

The “mysterious link” between elephant poaching and Chinese workers in Kenya

Information linking elephant killings in Kenya with Chinese workers has recently made its way to the surface. The slaughtered elephants have all had their tusks hacked out - a sure sign of ivory poaching.

What’s going on?

The effects of the CITES-sanctioned auction are likely at fault: The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has strongly opposed any type of ivory trade with China, stating that the legal auction would encourage Chinese demand. Patrick Ormandi, KWS Head of Species and Conservation Management, confirmed that there has been a surge of elephant killings.

Last year we lost 98 elephants to poachers and up to today, this year, we have lost up to 73 elephants. This is a big worry and all this is stimulated because there was an experiment to trade.

KWS also suspects it is more than a “coincidence” that a large number of elephant killings have occurred in areas where Chinese crews have recently arrived for massive construction projects.

Moses Litoroh, KWS elephant program coordinator, noted an unusually close proximity between the elephant killings and areas where the Chinese newcomers are working.

More than 50 per cent of the dead elephants we have found have been in that area in the north where the Chinese are working on the road. We can perhaps assume that they have had a hand in it, maybe not all of them, but the coincidence is causing us great concern.

Earlier this year, Wildlife Direct’s Paula Kahumbu told Reuters she also believes there is a link between some of the Chinese in Africa and the rising elephant slaughter.

We’ve seen a huge increase in the amount of poaching. We believe it is primarily due to the fact that the ivory sale last November has actually stimulated the markets …

There’s a massive influx of people, who are not very wealthy, who can afford to buy ivory at local prices and who make a lot of money out of it when they get it back to China.

And yet another issue has connected China to elephant poaching: Ivory smuggling.

Increasing links between ivory smuggling and China

The Telegraph UK reported late last year that “the majority of ivory smugglers arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi are now Chinese Nationals.”

Authorities also believe that the July seizure of an illegal shipment of elephant ivory and rhino horn in Laos was en route to China.

Paula Kahumbu points out that the problem is even more widespread.

It (should) not be easy to move a container load of ivory from a country to another when there are such strict regulations. It means there is facilitation going on.

Suspicious coincidences

One “suspicious coincidence” after another seems to link China to the elephant poaching crisis. And of course, in an absurd PR scramble, China has “officially denied” any links to elephant poaching.

It’s time to stop dancing around this issue and pretending there is some sort of “mystery” behind the slaughter of Africa’s elephants: China absolutely must be held accountable for its role in elephant poaching.

Images: Wikimedia Commons